Objectives

The objective of this document is to provide an overview of the problems

and opportunities of the peri-urban interface (PUI) with regard to the
broader concerns of environmental sustainability and poverty.
Understanding there social and cultural growth along with the economic
growth.
Problems of the village
o Race & ethnicity
o Culture and religion
o Gender and Sexuality
o Migration Status
o Socioeconomic status
o Family structure and relationship
o Social Media and youth culture
o Knowledge and accessibility of sexual health services
To explore these social determinants of sexual health using an
ethnographic research methodology
To understand these factors which can combine together to lead to
marginalization or multiple marginalization of young people resulting in
risky sexual behaviours, lifestyle and relationships
Abstract

Punsari is a village located in Sabarkantha district in the state of Gujarat, India.

The village is located at about 80 km from the state capital, Gandhinagar. The
village follows the Panchayati raj system and the Punsari Gram Panchayat is the
second one which is going to launch its own Website in the Whole State. The
village has undergone a transformation under the panchayat. There has been
use of new and advanced technology in education. This village has Wi-Fi
connection for all people. Efforts have been made for the empowerment of
women and increasing security in the village. Some of the facilities provided by
the panchayat include local mineral water supply, sewer & drainage project, a
healthcare centre, banking facilities and toll-free complaint reception service.
Consequently, Punsari received the award of being the best Gram Panchayat in
Gujarat. The village's model has been appreciated by delegates from Nairobi and
they are keen to replicate this in Kenyan villages.
Taluka Name: Bayad
District: SabarKantha
State: Gujarat
Language: Gujarati and Hindi
Time zone: IST (UTC+5:30)
Elevation / Altitude: 106 meters. Above Sea level
Telephone Code / STD Code: 02779
Pin Code: 383335
Post Office Name: Gabat
Main Village Name: Gabat
Demographics

The population of Punsari was 5500 as per 2011 census of India which has
increased to 5500 in 2011. As of June 2012, the population is 6000.
Urbanisation
There is a 66 KV sub-station that supplies power to the village. The Sarpanch
aims at getting Wi-Fi connectivity in the entire village so that the villagers can
use unlimited internet once they purchase the modem from the panchayat office.
The panchayat in this village has made efforts to provide the best possible
facilities to students. Air-conditioners and CCTV cameras are installed in the
primary schools. Apart from schools, 25 CCTVs are installed at prime junctions of
the village so that the litterbugs can be spotted and punished.
Mini-buses are used for transport purpose within the village. The panchayat has
started a bus facility called the Atal Express for women which is used for the
import of milk.
For communication purposes, 120 waterproof speakers have been installed,
which are used by the Sarpanch to inform the people of new schemes and to
make important announcements. The speakers are also used to play bhajans,
shlokas, and slogans of Mahatma Gandhi.
The total estimate for this development work was 140 million (US$2.1 million)
and the state and central governments provided support for the same. For his
efforts, the Sarpanch Himanshu Narendrabhai Patel was awarded with the best
Gram Sabha award at the third National Panchayati Raj Day held at New Delhi. In
November 2011, he received the best Gram Panchayat award in Gujarat from
Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Other awards include the Academy of Grassroots
Studies and Research of India award.
Education system
There are five primary schools in Punsari. All the five schools have CCTV cameras
placed to enable parents check their wards' performance without interrupting the
lectures and also to keep a watch on the teachers. The school drop-out rate is
zero in Punsari. The village was rated B+ during Ganotsav 2011 which is an
annual education campaign run by the state government.
Water system
The panchayat had installed a reverse osmosis plant in 2010 to ensure the
supply of clean drinking water to the villagers. During weddings and other
ceremonies, water tankers are arranged. Drinking water taps are available for all.
The village also has a proper sanitation and drainage system, which is
completely underground.
There is no railway station near to Punsari in less than 10 km. However
Ahmadabad Rail Way Station is major railway station 89 KM near to Punsari.
Colleges near Punsari

1) Gitanjali Pharmacy College

Address: Talod; At. & Po. Talod;talod -- 383215.sabarkantha
2) Sheth H P Arts & T S M Commerce College, Talod
Address: Talod

Schools near Punsari

1) Kesav Vidhyalay
Address: gabat, bayad, sabar
2) Punsri Sch
Address: gabat, bayad, sabar
1) M C M Shah Kishor Sch
Address: gabat, bayad, sabar
2) Gabat - 2 School
Address: gabat, bayad, sabar
3) Gabat - 1 School
Address: gabat, bayad, sabar

kantha, Gujarat. PIN- 383335, Post - Gabat

kantha, Gujarat . PIN- 383335, Post - Gabat
kantha, Gujarat. PIN- 383335, Post - Gabat
kantha, Gujarat. PIN- 383335, Post - Gabat
kantha, Gujarat. PIN- 383335, Post - Gabat

The Problems
Urban-rural interactions are affected by and impact upon urban and rural
patterns of production, consumption and mobility, and the livelihoods of an
increasing number of inhabitants in developing countries. The peri-urban
interface is subject to a wide range of transformations and flows that originate
within and outside its domain. Most of the changes occurring in the PUI are
driven by the proximity of urban areas (land conversion and new developments,
market opportunities, flows of people, waste, labour, goods, capital, etc.);
nevertheless the sustainability of the natural resource base and quality of life
within the PUI are also affected by
the linkages these areas maintain with their rural hinterland and in general with
the use and appropriation of natural resources and environmental services. From
an environmental perspective, peri-urban interfaces face two main challenges
and the relationship between the two seems to be a key point for the design of
strategic environmental planning and management (EPM) that benefits the poor
and enhances the sustainable development of the peri-urban interface:
Environmental problems and opportunities and quality of life of the poor
within the PUI: The first set of challenges are related to the environmental
conditions of the PUI as the living and working environment of a large
number of people in developing countries. Although heterogeneous in its
social composition, the PUI constitutes the habitat of lower income
communities, which are particularly vulnerable to the impacts and
negative externalities of nearby rural and urban systems. This includes
risks to health and life and physical hazards related to the occupation of
unsuitable sites, lack of access to basic water and sanitation and poor
housing conditions. At the same time, environmental changes impact upon
the livelihood strategies of these communities by decreasing or increasing
their access to different types of capital assets (including access to natural
resources such as land, water, energy and so forth);

Problems and opportunities for the sustainability of the natural resource

base of the PUI: reconciling urban and rural development pressures. These
challenges are linked to the sustainability of the regional extraction
patterns of renewable and non-renewable resources of peri-urban
ecosystems, and to the minimisation of the transfer of environmental
costs from rural and urban systems to the PUI. The peri-urban interface is
subject to many competing interests without an adequate institutional
framework to strike balances which might contribute to relieve poverty,
protect the environment, maximise the productivity of human and natural
resources, or draw synergy from urban and rural relationships. Therefore,
the sustainability of both urban and rural areas can be dramatically
affected by the dynamic and changing flows of commodities, capital,
natural resources, people and pollution taking place in the peri-urban
interface.

The rurban rural area with urban facilities lifestyle that Punsari has come
into prominence for.
Present scenario in Punsari yields interesting facts about the trajectory of
development that the local self-government has adopted. With revolutionary
ideas such as placing CCTV cameras in all primary schools in his village to make
parents see how their wards fare at any moment of the day, sarpanch Himanshu
Narendrabhai Patel has been credited to have done development work worth Rs
14 crore in his panchayat with the help of state and central governments. A
young, dynamic and tech savvy Facebooker, Patel has made best possible use
of technology to make his village a role model. Patel has received the best Gram
Sabha award at the recently held third National Panchayati Raj Day in New Delhi.
He received the best Gram Panchayat award in Gujarat from Chief Minister
Narendra Modi in November 2011.
Punsari falls in the picturesque and agrarian district of Sabarkantha. The proud
village head, Himanshu Patel, narrates the incident, as how to settle the present
drinking water problem by the villagers, the panchayat has installed an RO plant
at a cost of Rs 5.5 lakh in the village in 2010 to provide clean drinking water. It
further employed local youth to ferry 20 litres plastic containers of water to those
in need. The cost a container is Rs 4 and for chilled water is Rs 6. Apart from this,
there are water coolers that the panchayat has installed inside pucca cement
booths at the bus stop. The village body has also arranged for a water tanker
available for Rs 100 during weddings etc. in the village as an affordable solution
to the perpetual water crisis rising at such events.
Holding a view aimed at inclusive and associative development, 29-year-old Patel
reinstates how the hard work of the panchayat has seeped in deep into the fabric
of the villages attitude towards development. Besides strenuous efforts towards
education of children, empowerment of women, sanitation and security in the
village, the panchayat has set up a public address system from the sarpanchs
own desk.
A unique communication system is in place in Punsari. Nearly 120 water-proof
speakers have been installed in the entire village connected with a sound system
in sarpanchs desk as well as his mobile. In the morning and evening, bhajans,

shlokas and Bapus slogans are played. Whenever the sarpanch has to inform the
public of any important development or scheme from the state or central
government, his message follows an alert tone on the speakers. If he is not in
village or outside Gujarat, he can give the message to his co-villagers through his
handset.
The village has completely underground drainage system. The panchayat also
runs a bus facility known as Atal Express, named after the former prime
minister of India, which ferries women from three villages in the panchayat to
bring in milk to the dairy in Punsari every morning. They are charged mere Rs 3
per head. Under the Kanya Kelavani scheme of government of Gujarat, girl
students get free ride in the bus which makes 6-7 rounds per day in the
panchayat.
The working womens groups (Sakhi Mandal) have deposited Rs 32 lakh as
savings, and are about to open new convenience stores and shopping centre
with the money. There are over 1,000 women in about 100 Sakhi Mandals in
Punsari alone, showcasing the emphasis on womens development in the village.
Furthermore, the fact that Punsari managed 100 per cent institutional delivery of
newborn children is nothing short of exemplary.
There is a 65 KV sub-station that supplies power to the village. Punsari gram
panchayat has adopted a method of incentivising the filing of taxes with Sintex
tanks to tackle the problem of tax collection.
Patel was the first sarpanch in Gujarat state to launch the gram panchayat
website in 2009. He was first elected as village head in 2006 and re-elected in
2012. A graduate from Sabarkantha district, he hails from a family of sarpanches
with his father and grandfather being ones. However, he has enthused young
blood in running the panchayat efficiently and taking on new heights.
In all the five primary schools in Punsari, CCTV cameras are placed to enable
parents check their wards performance in classroom without disturbing the
teachers. There are LEDs in headmasters cabin too.
The village was given a B+ rating during the Gunotsav 2011, an annual
education campaign run by the state government. The school dropout rate is
zero in Punsari. Very soon, all the government schools in the village will be
centrally air conditioned. Work is in full swing on this project.
The sarpanch aims to get the entire village Wi-Fi connected by June 2012 with
the villagers enjoying unlimited internet once they purchase a modem from the
panchayat office. The Punsari panchayat has also ensured an accident insurance
policy cover for three years by paying a premium of Rs 6.5 lakh and the scheme
entails to give Rs 1 lakh to the kin of dead in accidents and Rs 25,000 to those
injured.
There is 100 per cent sanitation, drainage lines, and drinking water taps in the
village, addition to 100 poles of solar street lights. A proper waste collection
management is in place with a tanker collecting waste every morning and
evening. The gram panchayat gives free dustbins to those who come to pay their
tax.