August 2002

The Raichur study is at a crucial juncture at this point in time. The study team has consolidated and now includes two new members namely Dr. Tekkur and Mr. Rajmohan Pillai. Dr. Tekkur, who is a community health expert will concentrate on public health issues in Raichur city and Rajmohan Pillai who is an Environmental Engineer will focus on the environmental issues of the city such as the quality of drinking water, the effect of the RTPS on the general environment of the city and so on. The public health issues have been narrowed down to the following primary issues:

1. Water
2. Solid waste Management
3. Sewage disposal
4. Nutrition.

As part of the survey on public health issues, few members of the community have already been addressed. Questionnaires which had a few basic and simple questions have been distributed among the 111 anganwaaadi workers in the city and also members of a slum organisation called Community Development Society. It is hoped that opinions of close to 500 families will be tapped by this process. 

Essential contacts with important members of the community had been made on the last visit to the city. NGOs like SEVA, NOPD and HRDS have promised help in the form of surveyors at the time of the primary survey in the month of September. That apart, the team also successfully liased with individuals from different goverment departments like PWD, KSSIDC,DIC, the Municipal Council etc and also from other vocational and professional areas like professors and lecturers from colleges; mediapersons; retired elders and so on. All the above mentioned individuals have contributed significantly to the study by their valuable inputs in the form of leads or other kind of information.