Vodhpora

Basit Ali Bhat

Basit Ali Bhat serves as a Community Facilitator at Vodhpora Smartpur centre. In his role he transformed Smartpur Centre into a vital hub, providing crucial services like: • Financial and Utility Services: Cash transactions (AEPS), pension withdrawals, and bill payments. • Government Documents: Registration for Labour cards, e-shram, PAN cards, domiciles, and land records etc which helps the community in accessing various services at their door steps. • Digital Assistance: Support with mobile recharges and digital identity services. Besides this he is responsible for supporting the team in ground level community mobilization, facilitating public access to digital services and government welfare schemes, and supporting the centre’s daily operations to bridge the digital divide in the community.

Basit Ali Bhat, a young man from Kashmir with a postgraduate degree in sociology and several computer courses under his belt, found himself facing the common challenge of unemployment. Despite his education, opportunities were scarce in his remote panchayat. His fortunes began to turn when he heard about the Smartpur project conducting an assessment in his village. Basit attended that community meeting, where he learned about the project's aim to bring essential services directly to the local level. Grabbing the opportunity, Basit approached the Smartpur HR team and expressed his keen interest in contributing, specifically for the Community Facilitator (CF) position being advertised for his panchayat. Following a demanding interview process, Basit's qualifications and enthusiasm shone through, and he was selected as a Community Facilitator. He then underwent comprehensive training, equipping him with vital skills in communication and project implementation across Smartpur's various pillars. Equipped with new knowledge and a deep understanding of his community's needs, Basit began delivering various services which includes Registration of Labour cards, Labor card scholarships, e-shram registrations, Land record extractions, Applications for domicile, category, Aadhar related services, PAN Card, Job Card, golden card, Electricity bill payments, mobile recharges, AEPS cash transaction, withdrawal of old age and disability pensions etc at his local panchayat. The impact was immediate and profound. Villagers, who once travelled 7 to 10 kilometres and endured long queues, now access crucial services right in their Smartpur Centres, saving time, money, and effort. Now, thanks to REACHA and the Smartpur initiative, these crucial services were readily available right in their own panchayat. The Smartpur project not only provided Basit with a fulfilling enterprise and a stable livelihood, allowing him to earn more than 9000 INR, but it also empowered him to become a catalyst for positive change in his community. He takes immense pride in knowing that his work is directly benefiting his neighbours, community, saving them time, money, and effort. Basit's story is a testament to the transformative power of the Smartpur project, demonstrating how investing in educated youth can create ripple effects of development and prosperity for entire communities.