PUBLIC LIFE AND VOLUNTARY SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANISATION

VOLUNTARY SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANISATIONS

In what follows is a brief description of the Voluntary Social Service Organisations working in various fields in the district.

Jamnalal Bajaj Seva Trust.

The Jamnalal Bajaj Seva Trust was founded in September 1949 at Wardha with the object of providing scholarships to poor students, and to extend financial aid to educational and social institutions.

The day-to-day affairs of the trust are looked after by the executive board composed of 5 members.

The trust possesses assets valued at Rs. 55 lakhs. Out of this a sum of Rs. 30,000 has been raised through share capital. Besides this, the trust possesses its own land at Bangalore valued at Rs. 135,000. The trust owns culturable land valued at Rs. 23,000 in many villages of the district.

The trust has done excellent work by providing financial aid to educational, social and religious institutions. During the last 22 years of its existence the trust has extended help to the tune of Rs. 50,00,000.

The trust receives substantial monetary help from the Bajaj group of industries.

In the year 1966, the annual income of the trust from all sources amounted to Rs. 4,21,000, whereas its expenditure amounted to Rs. 3,23,000 only.

Mahila Seva Mandal.

The Mahila Seva Mandal was founded in July 1960 at Wardha. The khadi and village industries department sponsored the establishment of the mandal. The objects of the mandal are to increase production of khadi in the district and give encouragement to its sale.

The day-to-day affairs of the mandal are looked after by a managing body of 14 members including president, vice-president, treasurer and a secretary with the help of 10 members. In 1966 the mandal had a membership of 26.

The mandal has also encouraged the starting of village industries like oil producing and presently different varieties of oils like groundnut, coconut, castor, sesamum. linseed, etc., are being produced with its encouragement. In the year 1966 the net sale of the mandal amounted to as under:—

The mandal receives loans from khadi gramodyog commission and Maharashtra State Khadi and Village Industries Commission.

The mandal possesses total property valued at Rs. 5,50,000. During the year 1966 the total income of the mandal from all sources amounted to Rs. 10,98,000, whereas the expenditure amounted to Rs. 11,95,000 during the same year.

Jamnalal Bajaj Central Research Institute for Village Industries.

The Jamnalal Bajaj Central Research Institute for village industries was established in November 1955 by the erstwhile All India Khadi and Village Industries Board in pursuance of the recommendation contained in the First Plan at Maganwadi, Wardha, where the All India Village Industries Association had been established by Gandhiji in 1935. From 1st April 1957, the Research Institute came under the Khadi and Village Industries Commission and was renamed Jamnalal Bajaj Central Research Institute for village industries in memory of Jamnalal Bajaj who had originally donated the estate. The objects of the institute are to carry on research and investigations into the problems of village industries and in particular the development of improved tools and techniques, utilization of available scientific and technical knowledge, to improve the traditional methods, tools and techniques of village industries, integration of technical problems with social and economic considerations of wider employment, and to promote village industries by mobilising scientific effort and invention to develop these industries. The institute is located in the Maganwadi estate which was taken over on lease from Sarva Seva Sangh.

The affairs of the institution are managed by a managing committee consisting of 5 members, including chairman, vice-chairman, secretary and treasurer. The President of the Indian Republic nominates the 5 members every three years.

There are 14 small village industries run by the institute. The research and investigational work of the institute for the period 1955-63 is briefly reviewed below.

(1) Non-edible Oil and Soap.—The non-edible oil and soap section of the institute has organised centres that collect and process the seeds and market the oil at reasonable rates. In the intervening period methods of storage, decortication and oil recovery in Ghani were implemented for a number of non-edible oil-seeds out of which mahura, neem, khakan, kusum, karanji, undi and pisa are the important ones. The old prevalent wooden decorticator has been modified into an all steel one with adjustable roll.

The Village Oil-Ghani.—The institution has started research on the crushing of edible oil-seeds on the Wardha oil ghani to evaluate its technical efficiency. Further it was proved that the present oil ghani is not a crude mechanical press. So by invention a new Muller ghani was started reducing the pressure on bullocks. Besides this, a ground-nut sheller has been designed and fabricated.

Processing of Cereals (Rice).—Investigations were carried for retention of nutritional factors, development of rice hulling and polishing equipment for the village use with regard to milling equipment and an attempt was made to prepare a hand driven huller with hard rubber coated rollers. A modified dhan chakki which gives a considerable advantage over its counterpart has also been invented.

Recovery of Bone and Glue from Flaying Centre.—The institution is producing variety of by-products from the flaying centres. Methods have been worked out to recover technical glue on 10 per cent yield from bone digested in the pressure digesters. No ice or elaborate equipment is used for solidifying the glue. From this sterile bone meal is produced for cattle feed. Besides this the preparation of dicalcium phosphate and gelatine by direct decalcification of the bone in hydrochloric acid is also carried out. An electrolytic process has been developed for this purpose. The process of obtaining better quality glue from fleshings is under study in a pilot plant at the institute.

Honey Standards.—The institute has been investigating the problems of honey standards. With the rise in the apiary industry due to the efforts of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission and the passing of legislation to prevent food adulteration the question of honey standards has become important. Under a committee of experts for honey under the council of food standards, collaborative investigations were undertaken at the institute.

Ceramics.—The work of the institute pertains both in regard to the development of traditional red-clay wares and also diversification to white clay wares on cottage scale for raising the economic status of the village potter. Methods have been developed to produce hard and dense red bodies from common clays by blending. In order to utilise white clays, simple pottery machines have been introduced. The essential simple pottery machines like jaw crusher, ball mill, jar mill and jigger jolly have been introduced to enable the potter to place standard quality of goods in the market.

Cellulose Section.—The development of the handmade paper industry at this institute is both towards preparing high grade papers from rags or tailors' cuttings as well as extension to other raw materials such as bamboo to produce economically high grade papers. It has taken up the production to filter paper for scientific and industrial use. At the institute a method has been worked out to soak the cut bamboo in optimum concentration of alkali in the cold, crush in a sugarcane crusher, beat to pulp, bleach and then prepare paper. This type of partly bleached paper is successfully produced with adequate economy of resources. Besides this a method for preparing fully bleached paper by a cold soda process has been worked out on a laboratory scale.

With regard to other work of the institute, the development of Charkha and auxiliary instruments for cotton spinning at the institute are improvements on the Ambar charkha. In matches section the methods for analysing potassium chlorate, red phosphorous, sulphur and potassium dichromate in match-tip composition have been developed by the institute.

The institution receives cent per cent grant in aid from the Government of India. The actual expenditure of the institute is shown separately in the table No. 1 for the years from 1961-62 to 1963-64.

TABLE No. 1.

TOTAL EXPENDITURE OF THE INSTITUTE

*For this year the figures of the actual expenditure are not available; these figures are of total sanctioned amount.

Civil Station Club, Wardha.

To provide recreation facilities and entertainment to the residents of Wardha city, the Civil Station Club was established at Wardha in 1921.

The administration of the club is looked after by an executive body of 6 members which includes president, vice-president and a secretary. The Collector is the ex-officio president of the club. In 1966 the club had a membership of 32.

The club is housed in its own spacious building. Besides, it has its own tennis and badminton courts. The total property of the club is worth Rs. 48,050. The annual income of the club amounted to Rs. 2,808.90 during the year 1966 whereas its expenditure amounted to Rs. 2,579.81 during the same year.

The Kesarimal Kanyashala was established in July 1936 at Wardha, with the object of providing education to women. The shala is managed by an executive committee of 6 members including chairman, vice-chairman, treasurer and secretary. It had a membership of 11 in 1966.

Kesarimal Kanyashala, Wardha.

The shala possesses 25 acres of land. It is housed in its own building. It receives grant-in-aid to the tune of 50 per cent of its total expenditure from the Government and rest of the expenditure is met from donations received from the public. The total expenditure of the shala amounted to Rs. 1,25,000 during the year 1966.

Mahila Samaj, Wardha.

The Mahila Samaj was established in 1936 at Wardha with the object of rendering help to children and women of all castes and religions of the Wardha city.

The day-to-day affairs of the samaj are managed by the executive committee of 15 members including president, vice-president, secretary, joint secretary and a treasurer.

At present the samaj is running a tailoring and embroidery class for women. The samaj also celebrates festivals and days of National importance. Tournaments and other recreational activities are also undertaken.

The samaj has been housed in its own building. The value of its assets in the form of machines and furniture is Rs. 15,000. The annual income of the samaj amounted to Rs. 5,000 during the year 1966 whereas its expenditure amounted to the same in the same year. The samaj receives grant-in-aid from the Social Welfare Board, Regional Welfare Board, and the Wardha Municipality as also donations from the public.

Wardha Education Society.

The Wardha Education Society was established in 1914 and registered in 1916 at Wardha city. The aim of the society is the propagation of secondary education for the local and surrounding population.

The society is managed by a governing body of 13 members including president, vice-president, secretary, joint secretary and six members and the Head Master as the ex-officio member. The membership of the society consists of patrons, donors, sympathisers and contributors. The society had a membership of 69 in 1965.

The society has rendered valuable service to the cause of education. Initially it ran a middle school from Standard V in 1929. By 1932, it developed into a full-fledged high school giving instructions upto XI standard. The society started a separate high school for girls in 1934. In 1935 it started a college at Wardha. However, in 1939 the college was shifted to Nagpur. In 1959 the society started a higher secondary division imparting instruction in the subject of Agriculture. The society runs a hostel with 6 rooms. It was built in 1949. It has also built a spacious open-air theatre. The society owns two spacious play-grounds with an area of about 8 acres and a gymnasium. There are also independent laboratories for the science wing of the society. The society possesses total property valued at Rs. 1,75,052 in addition to land admeasuring 14 acres. Besides, it has a radio-set, loud-speaker, projector and a tape-recorder. The annual income of the society amounted to Rs. 1,89,217 in 1964-65 whereas the total expenditure amounted to Rs. 1,68,654 during the same year. The society receives grant-in-aid from the government as also from the municipal committee.

Gandhi Dnyan Mandir.

To study and spread the thoughts and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi the Gandhi Dnyan Mandir was established in 1950 at Bajajwadi, Wardha, at the hands of the late Dr. Rajendra Prasad. The Mandir subsequently constructed its own spacious building for accommodating a library which was inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1954.

The library contains reading sections, Balvachanalaya, auditorium and praying hall and has 20,000 books on different subjects.

shri Laxmi-Narayan Deosthan.

Shri Laxmi-Narayan Deosthan was started in 1904 by the late Shri Bachharaj Bajaj at Wardha in the interest of welfare of the people at large in social, religious and educational fields.

The Deosthan is managed by 7 trustees including president, vice-president, treasurer and secretary.

At present the Deosthan is running a dharmashala, a free dispensary, a diagnosis centre and a balmandir. The Deosthan gives donations to educational institutions through its trust.

The Deosthan possesses movable and immovable property worth Rs. 3,50,000. The total income of the Deosthan amounted to Rs. 42,000 in 1964-65, whereas the total expenditure amounted to Rs. 32,000 during the same year.

Akhil Bharat Sarva Sevca Sangh.

The Akhil Bharat Sarva Seva Sangh was established in 1941 at Wardha. It started the Krishi Goseva Samiti at Wardha during the same year. The aim of the sangh is to spread the Gandhian philosophy and advocate protection of the cow.

The management of the sangh rests with the managing committee composed of 11 members including the president, vice-president, a treasurer and a secretary.

The sangh possesses total immovable property in land admeasuring 300 acres. The total income of the samiti amounted to Rs. 50,000 in 1966, whereas the total expenses amounted to the same during the same year.

Sarvajanik Vachanalaya.

The Sarvajanik Vachanalaya was established as far back as 1870 at Wardha with the object of providing books, magazines and newspapers to the common reader and thereby help the cause of social education. The administration of the vachanalaya is looked after by an executive body elected by the members. In 1966 the vachanalaya had membership of 41.

The vachanalaya is housed in its own building constructed recently with the government extending considerable help. The vachanalaya arranges Granthalaya sammelan where scholars and artists are invited to deliver a series of lectures.

The vachanalaya possesses total property of the value of Rs. 8,680. The annual income of the library in 1966 amounted to Rs. 1,560.60, whereas the total expenditure amounted to Rs. 1,680.90 during the same year.

Mahila Seva Mandal Mahilashram.

The Mahilashram was established at Wardha in 1924 by Mahila Seva Mandal under the inspiring guidance of the late Shri Jamnalal Bajaj. The object of the mandal is to help in moral, intellectual and spiritual advancement of women in general and widows in particular irrespective of their caste, creed and religion.

The mandal is managed by an executive body of five members including president, vice-president and secretary to look after its day-to-day administration. The mandal had a membership of 26 in 1966. The mandal is housed in its own building.

The mandal possesses cultivable land in which groundnut, cotton and jowar are produced. The annual income of the mandal in 1966 amounted to Rs. 45,000, whereas its expenditure came to Rs. 75,000 during the same year. The mandal received Rs. 45,000 in the form of grant-in-aid as also donations from the public in the same year.

Jamnalal Bajaj Bal Mandir.

The Jamnalal Bajaj Balmandir was started at Wardha in 1937, with the object of taking care of children below 6 years of age.

The executive committee of 13 members including president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer looks after the day-to-day administration of the Balmandir.

The assets of the Balmandir are valued at Rs. 1,43,932. The Balmandir is housed in its own building and has a library, a spacious playground and an auditorium.. In 1965-66 the annual income of the Balmandir amounted to Rs. 23,500 whereas its expenditure came to Rs. 17,000 in the same year.

The main building and the auditorium are given on hire charges to other institutions and private parties.

The Social Welfare Department gives an yearly grant-in-aid of Rs. 750 to the Balmandir. It also receives a grant of Rs. 1,337 from the Zilla Parishad. Besides, the Mahilashram gives Rs. 2,160 annually as donation to the Balmandir. The Balmandir also receives munificent donations from the public. During the year 1965-66 the donations received from the private sector amounted to well over Rs. 9,000.

Swavalambi Shikshan Prasarak Mandal.

The Swavalambi Shikshan Prasarak Mandal was founded in November 1942 at Wardha with the object of imparting all-round education by starting colleges, high schools, hostels, libraries, research institutes and gymnasiums. The mandal aims at making the students self-dependent and self-supporting and create in them the qualities of initiative and enterprise.

The administration of the mandal is looked after by the president, vice-president and secretary assisted by different executive committees.

At present the mandal is running 3 high schools, a girls high school, B. T. college, S. T. C. college, homoeopathic college and a hostel.

The mandal possesses immovable property in buildings, furniture, books, laboratory, radio, etc. The total income of the Mandal amounted to Rs. 3,58,395.79 in the year 1962, whereas the total expenditure amounted to the same in the same year. In 1966 the institutions run by this Mandal had 2,500 students on their roll and a teaching staff of 120.

Gram Seva Mandal.

The Gram Seva Mandal was founded in 1938 with the object of preaching the gospels of truth and Ahimsa (non-violence) to the common man. It also aims at starting, developing and taking over such institutions which will facilitate the upliftment of the rural people in social, cultural and intellectual fields.

The mandal took active interest in the Quit India movement of 1942.

The executive committee consisting of seven to fifteen members including the president, vice-president, secretary, trustee and members looks after the day-to-day administration of the mandal. The membership of the mandal is of two types viz., Sevak Sabhasad and Sahayogi Sabhasad.

The members observe a strict code of rules and regulations. They are supposed to wear Khadi dress and work on Charkha every day.

The mandal owns 50 acres of land.

Badjate Trust.

The Badjate Trust was established at Wardha in January 1964 and was registered by the amalgamation of three trusts, viz., (i) Sagunabai Badjate Charitable Trust, (ii) Pramiladevi Badjate Jain Seva Trust and (iii) Chiran-jilal Badjate Trust. The object of the trust is to provide scholarships to the needy and poor students, give aid to widows, help publication of literature, to run the libraries and conduct maternity houses, etc.

The affairs of the trust are looked after by the committee of seven trustees, who elect the president and a secretary.

The movable and immovable property of the trust is valued at Rs. 40,000. In 1966 the income and expenditure of the trust amounted to Rs. 2,000.

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