Basan Field Trip

Naman Singh

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Basan is a small village situated near our institute on the newly constructed Gandhinagar

highway. I visited Basan on the field trip and got to experience a lively and fresh atmosphere.

Basan comes under Gandhinagar district and is dependent on Gandhinagar for many of its basic

facilities. Some experiences from my trip are included below:

Basan has a population of 1800-2000 which is way less than the village of Palaj which we

previously visited. Before entering the village, there are a few houses on the outskirts of village.

These are constructed from clay and mud. These houses lack basic amenities such as toilets and

proper water facility. This is different from the village of Basan where people get 24 hours

electricity and have water connections. These houses located outside village use firewood as fuel

but the village of Basan has gas pipelines around houses for proper supply of cooking gas. There

are also few small shops which sell general household items. There was some ongoing

construction work for a water pipepline to ensure water supply for these houses.

Upon entering the village, I observed a crowd of women and children in a religious procession.

The people of Basan celebrate their festivals together and live in peace and harmony. There are a

lot of temples in the village. The most beautiful was the Mata Ji Temple on the riverbank of

Sabarmati. Apart from praying, it also had free space outside for people to sit and children to

play. Apart from the present temples, another few temples are under construction. One of these is

the Ram Mandir. The stones needed for this temple have been imported from outside the village

and very skilled laborers are on the job.

Basan does not have its own waste disposal system and does depend on Gandhinagar for it.

Garbage trucks arrive from Gandhinagar on a weekly basis and collect all the garbage from the

village. They also help clean all the streets. Despite being a village, Basan lacks its own

Panchayat. Any conflict or decision is taken after 2 3 older and experienced people in village. I

was fortunate enough to talk to one of these persons and he explained to me how the village

functions.

Despite being small in size, Basan contributes highly in milk production. Almost all households

own cattle which includes buffaloes and cows. Although, cows are rare in Basan, they are also

present in Basan. Villagers after taking what they need for their daily household needs from their

milk production, sell the rest of the milk products to Amul and other milk companies. A lady was

also awarded by Amul for her continuous dedication towards company.

Electricity is a not an issue for most of the residents of Basan. They have 24 hour electricity

supply. There are a few places where the wiring is not so safe. At these places, the wires from the

poles come very close to the terrace of the homes. At few places like the school, there were extra

precautions taken by the authorities to make sure that wires do not fall on the ground. Authorities

used a structure of wires under the main electricity wires so make sure villagers are safe in case

any wire breaks loose or falls. Most of the village has metered connections and there is almost no

theft of electricity in this village as the electricity is handled by Torrent which is a private

company.

The water supply in main village of Basan is plentiful for their daily household chores. Women

wash their clothes at a common place near the school. Basan has its own overhead water tank,

tube and bore wells. The drainage system of the village is completely underground. Almost all

houses of Basan have their own toilets. This can be attributed to the schemes of Government of

Gujrat in which the government provided money as an incentive for villagers to construct toilets

in their homes.

There is a primary school in Basan. Most of the children till class 8th are enrolled here. Few

students also go to schools at Gandhinagar. The school has its own playground and provides a

nurturing environment for the children enrolled here. Most workers in the village go outside the

village for employment. This is because of lack of fields in and near village. This is due to the

Government acquiring the land of villagers for other development projects.

Pictures of various Beautiful Temples of Basan: