Impact of Entry Point Activities (EPAs) on Changes of Socio-economic Conditions of Watershed Community in the Devipatnam Mandal of East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) watershed development program was implemented in the Devipatnam mandal of the west Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. Introducing watershed development programs to the community through Entry Point Activities (EPAs) has always been recognized as an important activity. The Entry Point Activities (EPAs) were implemented to establish togetherness with the community, strengthening and sustaining it throughout the program and beyond. The present study focused on the assessment of outcomes from Entry Point Activities and their impact on changes inthe socio-economic conditions of the watershed community. The study covered two PMKSY Projects covering four micro watersheds of Batch-V sanctioned in Devipatnam mandal of East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh. Stratified random sampling was adopted for this study covering 5% of households out of the total households in the study area. Three types of EPAs (RO Plant, Tent houses and Solar street lights) were executed in PMKSY project areas which bring changes in the socio-economic conditions of the watershed community.