Telangana: A Gulf returnee sarpanch introducing technology to a village in Jagitial
A tractor driver interacts with his colleagues through walkie-talkie in Thandriyal, Kathalapur Mandal in Jagital District.
Jagtial: As one walks into Thandriyala in Kathalapur Mandal, a village with a population of 4,466, he comes across a rare but pleasant sight of employees, either it is sanitation workers or village officials. They use walkie-talkie sets to gather and exchange information.
This is one village that is trying to keep ahead of time in use of technology, ensuring discipline among workers and taking big strides on the path of development. The sarpanch of the village is a Gulf returnee.
The transformation of the village began after the return of Gadila Gangaprasad to his native village from Doha in Qatar in 2018. He contested and won as the sarpanch, later, applied all his Gulf experiences for the development of his village.
On July 3, Gangaprasad bought 12 walkie-talkie sets, each costing Rs 1,240 for effective management. He had earlier introduced biometric attendance system for the village workers and set up community dust bins in the village.
The nine multi-purpose workers including the village secretary and the sanitation staff in the gram panchayat slipped into their new roles, punching in their attendance between 6 am and 6.10 am, pick up their gadgets and other implements and leave for the areas allotted to them.
Speaking on this, Gangaprasad told that his dream was to develop his village on all aspects. He said, "I worked for Doha Municipality for 20 years, from 1997 to 2018. Joining as a labourer, I rose to become a driver and finally got promoted to the supervisor's position. Use of walkie-talkie sets among the 4,000 workers and 6,000 drivers Doha Municipality was common and I decided to put them in usage in Thandriyala."
"With the usage of walkie-talkie sets, it is very simple to know the location of workers. As the workers were not following duty timings, I introduced the biometric attendance system, and litter-picking sticks were also purchased for the convenience of aged workers," he added.
District Collector Guguloth Ravi inspected the village and appreciated the sarpanch for his efforts in providing good services to the people through his innovative ideas.