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PRIA along with SATHEE (Jharkhand) is implementing 'Decentralised drinking water security in 6 Arsenic affected GPs of Sahibganj district project. This project is supported by Arghyam Foundation, Bengaluru. The project is being implemented in Udhwa and Mandro blocks of the district. To build the capacities of various stakeholders involved in this project 3 days Training of Trainers (ToT) is planned during 2-4 February at Hotel Kalinga International, Sahibganj. In all 27 participants (4 female and 23 males) attended this programme.
The training was more of an interactive session in which both the trainee and the trainers shared their experience based on the decentralized planning in Sahibganj. On the first day process of planning and its importance was discussed. For proper understanding some group activities were also initialized in which all the team laid down their thinking on the importance of planning. The trainers also presented the importance of participatory planning in water security and its management. The presentations focussed on the aspects of water management, governance issues involved as well as the suggested solution in the form of participatory processes. Various steps of planning and relevance of planning were covered through conceptual input on planning cycle. A small movie was also shows in a session to give glimpses of the process involved in decentralised planning process for water management.
On second day the team discussed about the questions which can be discussed at the village level to draft WSP for the village. The session also covered the stakeholders which would be involved in it. Three teams were formed to visit three villages Neemgachi, Nayanagar, Mahadev Baran and collect data which would be useful in drafting a water security planning at village level. The team after returning from the field discussed about the positive and negative points which they noticed during the field visit and discussed the same with the other team members. The SWOT Analysis (Strength, Weakness, opportunities and Threats) and "WATER BUDGETâ was also discussed with the trainees and also about how they analysis the individual village on the basis of these matrix.
On third day discussion was focus more on the role of District Planning Committee. There was a power point presentation on water security and activities involved in drafting a water security survey, its administration and technical aspects involved in village mapping and preparing report. The role of facilitators and its importance in the planning process was also discussed in the programme. Towards the end of the training, all the participants were asked to divide themselves in a group of two and decide on the strategy and plan of action for the implementation of phase II of decentralised water security planning project being implemented in Sahibganj, Jharkhand.
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