Dr Mohinder Kumar

Chuchoot village is located 13 km from Leh city and eight km from Choglamsar, which witnessed impact of deadly cloudburst in 2010. Villagers hold a view that Chuchoot is the “biggest village in Asia”, situated as it is on vast expanse along river Indus. Total area of Chuchoot is 1750 acres, including 500 acres (29%) of common land. Chuchoot is one of the few villages in Leh district which have better irrigated private land of farmers, supplied with water through drains from river Indus. However, common land is not irrigated. For 1500 households (9000 population) of village, to survive conveniently, provision of irrigation facility on common land would be a useful strategy. Villagers have not yet thought of Lift Irrigation System on river Indus due to constraint of finance for capital investment. In fact innovative idea to promote public utilities on public lands with public resources is yet to develop in villages. With Scheduled Tribe status, 80% Muslim and 20% Buddhist population, people speak common Laddakhi language. Both communities maintain extremely cordial relations. Literacy is 69%.
Laddakhi Buddhist cultural traditions followed by people in Chuchoot are, for instance, religious dance, theater performance in Gompa (without mask) with Lamas and archery (for leisure and popular interest). Some of them participated in national archery competition also. They wear red or ferozi color ornament (pairakh) on forehead on the occasion of marriage functions. An average marriage function costs Rs.50,000. Therefore, maintaining rich culture and traditions is costly affair. Buddhist community is democratic, liberal, cooperative, egalitarian, and not subject to any taboos. Community has not inculcated any superstitions and fears. Lamas also perform theater using masks in Gompas.

Village Weekly

Muslim community celebrates festivals like Id-ul-fitr, Losar (Buddhist new-year festival), Bakar-Id, etc. They would offer namaz five times daily, preferably in congregation in Mosque which is considered better and more effective for common well being. Both Buddhists and Muslims participate commonly in marriage functions of each community without difference. Incidences of divorces in village are uncommon. Both communities have their respective village community institutions, viz., Aqafbari (committee of villagers responsible for management of mosques) and Gompa (committee responsible for managing monasteries). In times of need, households of both communities can exchange money (for money) or aata (for aata only), etc. No interest is charged on money lent by any villager. Amount of credit normally does not exceed Rs.5000 or 10000, borrowed for one or two months at the most. Default in repayment is out of question. Their life is simple, normal and smooth as long as exotic modern institutions have not made head way into their lives. One can call it idyllic village with restful and relaxing life style marked by age old calmness and tranquility. Modernity could not penetrate and destabilize it so far.
Chuchoot has vast forest area on hills. Sometimes ago forest caught natural fire; Sarpanch had to call fire brigade service from Leh city upon receiving call for help from villagers. Forest has no pasture land for grazing of animals -mainly cows. For drinking water, piped Water Supply Scheme was recently started with efforts of Sarpanch by connecting each household of village through pipe line. Taking sand from river Indus and stones from hills is banned by the District Administration. Users have to pay Rs.800/- per tipper or trolley; official receipt is duly issued by Sarpanch or Numberdar to all payers and users. Sarpanch, a soft spoken Muslim youth is well educated (graduate), owns car, and runs a private computer coaching center at Leh city for livelihood. Car is maintained by him out of necessity for frequent conveyance from Leh to village several times daily. Sarpanch is leader-cum-worker, committed to serve villagers. If there is an urgent issue like forest fire, or MNREGA related work, or any official meeting, or drinking water problem in the village, he would be the first to be called.
Chuchoot has 4000 youth, each rural household having two to three youth in family. Villagers have formed a perception that all of them are employable in government service, since educated. For them formal education is a guarantee for having government job. Perhaps they mean to say that formal education any way deserves full formal employment. Nonetheless youth keep themselves engaged and absorbed in family farming, contractor’s job, small business, small shop or trade, wage laborer, contract labourer, etc. -but none in tourism business or taxi operators. Very few persons from Chuchoot are employed in Government service. About 70 percent of youth can be termed as “disguised unemployed” i.e. working in activities (family farm or shop) where their real economic contribution or net productivity is zero. No person has migrated from village to outside places in search of jobs although there can be seen a process of reverse migration or inflow of outside labourers, from Nepal or Bihar, to this village coming through Leh city where there is a sort of “labor chowk” near district commissioner office. Outside migrant laborers work in Chuchoot or nearby areas, as mason, carpenter, brick-kiln worker, road construction workers.
Availability of infrastructure is mixed -neither so good nor very bad. Farmers cannot sell much since they don’t have marketable surplus, but are rather dependent on buying vegetables and fruits from footpath sellers of Choglamsar. They subsist on subsistence farming. Link roads connecting Chuchoot with Leh and Choglamsar are in good shape even as these were recently constructed or are still being constructed after cloudburst damaged rural infrastructure and roads. Krishi Vikas Kendra (KVK) of State Agricultural University of Kashmir exists at Chuchoot. Block Development Office is also situated at Chuchoot. Industrial Training Institute was set up in Leh city, on the airport road, wherein students from Chuchoot get training in different trades and skills. The village has a veterinary health center. Village land record keeper does not have office in Chuchoot village though Patwari comes to village as per requirement. One NGO is active in village. One foreign agency called “Europe Aid” has supported a project on industrial processing of seabuckthum (medicinal plant), with financial assistance granted to one Self Help Group (SHG) ‘Tsestalulu Society’, to construct tin shed under “Leh Nutrition Project”. Development schemes implemented in the village are MNREGA and Indira Awas Yojna.
Chuchoot offers a contrast of deserted and pleasant greenish look with serenity and peace. Street lanes are pucca and sanitation is satisfactory. Streets have pucca drains for disposal of waste water. However, facility of street lights is non-existing. Drinking water is supplied through pipes sourced from nearby chashma (spring). Village has two dispensaries and one Primary Health Center.
For emergency they visit private clinics at Choglamsar. The village has seven or eight grocery shops. There is one fair price shop in the village which supplies rice (4 kg per person per household), atta, sugar, and kerosene oil (15 liters per month). There is one primary school, one middle school and one high school. Village also has one post-office. Migrant laborers in Chuchoot send money orders to their native place, since bank branch facility does not exist.
Private economic assets of households of village Chuchoot include three or four tractors and trolleys, three or four threshers, and two power tillers. Each farm household owns one bullock. Around 70% households cultivate land for subsistence farming using bullocks; this is in contrast with common practice in other villages of Leh district where hired tractor is mostly used for cultivation. Each household has two or three cows. Milk supply to Leh city is mostly catered by Chuchoot village. Each household owns up to 10 small ruminants (goats and sheep). There are five poultry farms in the village even as each individual household owns up to 10 poultry birds. These livestock help households in their physical and economic survival. Ratio of Below Poverty Line households as per list of Gram Panchayat is 30%. Interestingly actual proportion of BPL population is higher than the reported since households do not reveal true status of poverty -the reason being, people are aware that no benefit or assistance would be any way available. Land less households are 30%. Despite being land less, resource-deficit and without cash-income sources, village people are active and live strong. Only six or seven houses are pucca (with stone and cement plaster); 99% houses are constructed with kutcha brick walls and having cement-plaster -a new innovative practice of construction started four-five years ago. All households use LPG for kitchen fuel. No household uses much of cow-dung cake, or wood or kerosene oil for cooking food. Over 80% villagers dislike bank loans due to fear of failure of repayment.
Chuchoot takes pride in having more than 10 SHGs functioning under erstwhile Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna (SGSY), formed by District Rural Development Center (DRDC),  Leh. These SHGs are engaged in different economic activities like stitching/ tailoring, embroidery, industrial processing of seabuckthorn, etc. A characteristic feature of the village is land encroachment by some local people all along 8-10 km long stretch on one side of river Indus -they would make enclosures with stone walls, or erect 2-3 feet high kutcha walls, or construct Gompa to paint it white with limestone, or construct a kutcha room -which are indicators of land occupation done by them. District authorities would often demolish encroachment signs but again these would reappear. Competitive encroachment and demolishing continues throughout the year because land is costly commodity in Leh district, particularly in the infringement of Leh city and in surrounding villages including Chuchoot.
Although Laddakh is “cold desert” situated on high altitude with extreme scarcity of normal rains, Chuchoot like many other villages in the region witnessed “excess” or heavy lashes of rain during 2010. Around 15 years ago also village had to cope with this phenomenon. “Excess” rain in Laddakh implies that sometimes in less than an hour even without cloudburst it rains so heavily on a limited and concentrated area that it would cause flash floods, resulting in crop damage, washing away of soils and fields, causing tree-felling and damage to pucca nallahs by landslides and heavy rush of water. “Heavy and excess rains” are unpredictable and can occur any time during July, August or any month. There are no protective mechanisms. Snowfall causes disruption of economic life, affecting normal existence and livelihoods. People survive on in-house activities like yarn making, weaving, etc. Villagers’ immune system against extreme cold conditions is now getting weak and they catch cold, cough and fever so soon in winter. They stay inside; store food items and essentials (dry vegetables, frozen meat, dry fruits, dry grass, dry wood, kerosene oil, coal, etc.) before winter starts. They repair their houses before winter season; they use warm jackets and woolen clothes and stay inside the house kept warm by burning wood. Villagers face situations of economic loss in business and loss of livelihoods of trade, shop, taxi-operator business, etc. (due to seasonal nature of activities), diseases, depression (due to anxiety, uncertainty). They also face financial problems due to economic losses and loss of livelihoods. Villagers are adapted to pursuing six months cycle of economic activity, followed by 6 months of rest, and thus sustaining life for 12 months repeated as such every year. Mental depression is experienced due to loss of income, which is tackled by “tightening of belt” and mutual help. Generally their approach to coping with adversities is based on own effort by individual households; later they wait for relief assistance from district administration, which e.g. gives compensation of Rs.2000 per household for crop damage. They remain happy and don’t complain too much.
In farm sector, the village has potential for promoting vegetable cultivation (summer cultivation and poly-house cultivation in winter), floriculture, ‘poplar’ tree, willow plantations, etc. In non-farm sector, village has scope for tailoring and knitting (individual and SHGs). In service sector, village has potential for small trade/business activities like retail shops even as consumption level is rising. Demands of villagers include self-employment opportunities in all the sectors and also wage-employment and government service (one youth per household). Due to implementation of MNREGA villagers have found new charm for wage-labor. Villagers require bank loan but only with subsidy; otherwise bank loan is not found attractive -reason being that their awareness is subsidy-oriented. They need streetlight facility. There is scope for dug well in each household, particularly under MNREGA. Villagers need hassle-free smooth service by government offices. Situated in proximity of Leh city, impact of modernity and commerce is slowly catching up in Chuchoot. Village is on the verge of transition, but can subsistence farming based economy adapt to the process of uncertain change?
(Author works for NABARD. Views expressed are personal)

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