Page:SELECTED ESSAYS of Dr. S. S. KALBAG.pdf/198

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at it from a distance and see it in its perspective. The details can be worked out anywhere as long as there are constant reminders of the rural environment and its constraints. Finally, one has to constantly test it on site. Keeping in mind that one has to handle many problems in different stages, one has to be close to, if not surrounded by the rural environment. The best solution seems to be to have urban and rural centers with a close link and work going on in both places in the same way in which industrial research and factory development are linked. But the idea that good rural development can be done only if you wear khadi must go. I suggest senior scientists could spend their weekends or vacations in real, not simulated, rural environments for this would enable them to enjoy the outdoor life. Fresh graduates, particularly engineers, could spend anywhere from 3 months to 2 years learning how to tackle problems on their own, seeking guidance only when needed. I shall now list actual specific problems to illustrate the kind of opportunities that a traditional rural development worker does not perceive. Somebody with a different background will see another set of projects, but no scientist-technologist with a creative mind will say nothing can be done. There is a lot that needs to be done and can be done in different fields. Water: Water is the most critical parameter in the whole of India. In most parts, there is a lack of water and in some parts, it is in excess. Science can be proud of the accuracy, with which areas can be mapped, but the subsurface geology of our country is known only on a gross basis and all selection of sites for percolation tanks and wells is done through casual geological surveys, if at all. The scarcity and high cost of these geological and geophysical services is the main Rural Development Through Education System 185 - - - - -