OverView of Kachhubi

Name of Village: Kachhubi Village

Demography of the Village: kachhubi Village is a sami big village near the tamuria railway station of the city of jhanjharpur. It is located approximately 7 km from the city of jhanjharpur. Kachhubi village is about 400 hectares and rests at an elevation of about 200 hectares above forest level. In the village, there are no facilities such as hospitals, banks, police stations or markets. Twice a week, food,vegetable  and supplies are imported to the village from other nearby towns and villages. The imported resources are then sold to the residents of Kachhubi village. There is a body called the Mukhia (Panchayat) which is the basic unit of administration for the village. The village is a part of the  of the state of Bihar. The post office is available within a village, located in front of Bhagwati astan.

Population details:The current population of the village is 7,000 people. This is a significant increase from the census taken in 2013 that showed a number of 1,345.

Background of the population:  When asked about how old the village was, the residents couldn’t give a clear answer. Most people just replied, “4 or 5 generations”. They also couldn’t answer where they originally came from.

Information on the population: The primary language spoken in the village is Maithli. Many residents also speak fluent hindi. The literacy rate lies around the range of 80%. The average yearly income of a family living in kachhubi village is 15,000 rupees. The government has started a system called the “ration card”, which sells goods to people at reduced prices. The people below the poverty line get a ration card, which helps them afford necessary goods. The number of people in kachhubi village who have the ration card is 1550 people. The government also provides school going children with free books and free lunch.

Occupation: The primary occupation of the residents of kachhubi village is agriculture. The agricultural production includes paddy (rice), rai, mustered , and some vegetables. The village is known for its kachhubi plantations. Small-scale brick industries are also located in the village. A number of about 100 people work outside of kachhubi village. A certain number of people in the village are taking courses in occupations such as tailoring (40 people) and computing (15 people).

Schooling: Even though the literacy rate in the village is about 80%, most people in the village are college dropouts. An average of 20 people in the village finish school upto 10th grade and an average of 15 people every year go on to finish grades 11 and 12. In kachhubi village, there is only a primary school. Students must go to a nearby village to study middle and secondary school. Children need to travel a distance of about 2 – 3 kilometers to get to school in the neighboring village. If a student wants to pursue further education and go to college, which is very rare, he or she has travel to the nearest town. The nearest colleges are located in the towns of jhanjharpur and nanour and andhrathadi. The main reason for student dropouts are as follows:

Lack of awareness: Parents with little or no education awareness want their children to leave school.

Lack of funding: After grade 8, a small amount of money is to be paid in order to continue going to school. Some cannot afford this.

Work: Sometimes, children are needed to work to help improve the family income. Children that leave school go and work in farms and make 25 to 50 rupees a day.

Marriage: Children get married and therefore stop coming to school.

Village Leadership structure: There is a fully functional local mukhia(panchayat) that holds the leadership position in kachhubi village. The head of the mukhia(Panchayat) is known as the Sarpanch. The village is a part of the of the state of Bihar.

Healthcare:There is no local hospital or health care centre in the village. The minimum distance a person must travel to receive proper healthcare is 2 – 6 kilometers in the town of Tamuria and jhanjharpur. Medicine also isn’t available in the village and a person must travel to a neighboring village to buy medicines. For Kachhubi village, there is one government appointed health worker who visits the village everyday. The health worker provides first aid and some basic medicines that may be required by the people. Once in 3 months, a doctor visits the village and performs some regular checkups. These checkups include blood sugar tests, eye checkups and blood pressure checks. Although there haven’t been any epidemics in the village, there have been reports of goiter in children and severe diabetes in adults. Most people die natural deaths in the village although there have been instances where people have died of cancer and diabetes. Even though the medical procedures are free for the villagers, they cannot afford the medicines and often take loans to buy them.

Entertainment: The village of Kachhubi is said to be a very culture bound village. The forms of entertainment are the cultural activities that take place in the village. The cultural activities include drama and dance. The arts are generally performed by the youth. Some examples are Nataka Ranga and sing a song. Though rarely visited, the closest cinema to Kachhubi is in the town of Varthur, 6 – 7 kilometers away.

Availability of power: The village of Kachhubi only receives 8 hours of power per day. There are no forms of backing up this power, by any form of generators and other such equipment.

Technology:As stated before 20 people have taken computer courses in the village of Kachhubi. In the village, there is no access to computers or Internet. Students also cannot make use of this technology to their benefit. Surprisingly, cell phones are very common in the village of Kachhubi. Almost each household in the village owns a cell phone. It is used as a family owned device, more than a personal device. The devices used, however, are very basic and capable of only voice conversions.

Community Projects:There are no NGO/Government initiatives that are ongoing in the village. The villagers, however, take such initiatives positively and are enthusiastic about any such schemes/projects.