YOUTH IN AGASTYAMUNI:
A BRIDGE TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Imagination is a beautiful thing. It gives you hope and sometimes the labyrinth of our mind takes us to the doorstep of solutions. Solutions which were hidden in plain sights. My imagination took me and my friends to our town hall in Agastyamuni, a small Nagar Panchayat of 6000 people in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand. For what? This time neither to perform a cultural programme as students nor to receive a prize after scoring good in board exams. But we will be there to seize the table which governs our small town and its neighboring villages.  We will be the flag bearers of change in the governance of our rural 'rapidly turning to' urban township.

Agastyamuni, a town at the banks of river Mandakini was declared Nagar Panchayat in 2014. Town is in a transition phase where the market area and main settlement resembles an urban setting but is flanked by rural areas with people enjoying the life of an urban rural mix. The town has many people from neighbouring villages accumulated for health and education facilities. This Nagar Panchayat has seen two elections resulting in two sets of leaders but the average range of age of leaders remains 50-60 years. 

How will we, who were born so much later from current use of leaders, will change the fate of this township? The question is intriguing but the solution will be what makes it more interesting. We are here with solutions with the touch of modernity. There will be a generation gap among the leaders at present and us, the youth but we are going to harness these differences. 

Modern problems need modern solutions. Unraveling of old fabrics have sewn new set of garments where our society needs to fit in and governance needs to be compatible with. This new era needs new blood. 

Governance is a dynamic concept. At the grassroot level in Nagar Panchayats you need penetration among your people to know what are the needs. The older lot are set in their own ways and accustomed to their life, there is no high desire for changes. Not even awareness. But we will be there, young ones trying to contain our energy and ideas. We will identify the problems and bring solutions to them. Keeping the development parallel to new concepts of climate change, wildlife, culture conservation, employment and all schemes the government in Delhi frames for us because awareness will be the key to implementation. 

E-governance will be our greatest tool. We have grown up with the internet. The new generation has high awareness of world. The children of globalisation- we observe and emulate. Right now, internet is our favorite. 

An e- revolution will take off in our township. Awareness among the masses will make them stronger. Democracy thrives on information. We will have a system of spreading info via the internet. Reels on instagram and youtube short films and live stream weekly meetings via zoom calls. This gives all GenZ vibes, but in truth the principle remains that citizens know what their rights are and what is being done by their leaders. 

There will be access to the internet. Not just the infrastructure in towers and wirings but in classes, for the new users for how to access websites and how to complain about policies. These classes will help the elderly to become part of the community. Their experience will help a lot. 

Good governance will have good results. We as youth thrive on good comments on an instagram posts. So we will definitely manage a feedback forum. Digitally and Manually. A website or a feedback box on different locations, an active grievance redressal will be in place. Gone will be the days of standing in lines to access public officials. Time for quick complaints and actions. 

Biggest grievance of Agastyamuni is disasters and its unstable topography. Recurrent cloud bursts, flash floods and earthquakes are an anathema to us. We as youngsters need to find out modern solutions blended with traditional ones for this. Fresh memories of June 2013 floods starting from Kedarnath are a lesson. Weather data availability for all at all times, early warning systems will form our defense. 

Future of Agastyamuni depends on young leaders who learn today and implement tomorrow.

This Nagar Panchayat has a high cover of forest area and we are keen to conserve it and its wildlife. There will be tagging and mapping of wildlife to reduce human-animal conflicts and drone usage for dousing annual wildfires. Drones will also be used for afforestation taking cues from Telangana where drones dropped seeds in inner forests. 

There is a problem of migration of youth due to unemployment. How can we as youth let our peers move to cities when we need to make our community stronger here? There will be skill upgradation and foreign language courses for increasing work from home abilities. Agriculture will be the savior with new crops coming in, Purple Revolution via lavender. Bamboo cultivation, hydroponics, aquaponics will be used to create agriculture as a field of employment and moneymaking. 

Multiple employment opportunities can be created by us via the internet. As well as increasing health and education facilities will increase peoples contentment and we will not be leaving town for these reasons.

All in all, we will be happy and robustly changing our town for the better via this initiative. Let me hold the horses of my imagination now. I may not be a career politician for now but there is always hope. 

Yes, it's true. We will be the future and together we will shape the course of government, it is only right we come forward and start taking reigns. My imagination may have led me to that doorstep in a small Himalayan town of Agastyamuni and changed my view of my city with my own efforts.  How will we together change our nation for the better with this energy surging inside. The youngest nation of the world will take its rightful place of Vishwaguru only when the youth becomes part of governance at every level. 

Together for the nation an anthem we sung, 
Governance is the answer for the young. 
New age needs have new demands
Youth will be the leaders taking command.

Shrishti Jangwan is a graduate from Daulat Ram College in Delhi University. She is from Agastyamuni in Uttarakhand.

This piece is part of Nagrikal, a platform for citizens from small cities to share their experiences so that they be channeled into policies.