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DEVELOPMENT:
RAIN HARVESTING
The
Evidence Is Everywhere
It's
the same rags-to-riches story in most of the 2,000 villages where check
dams have been built. Parapipalia village of Rajkot district presented
a melancholy picture two months ago. Till the villagers got together and
built nine dams on small rivulets at a cost of Rs 15 lakh (Rs 9 lakh of
this coming from the state Government). With the first downpour of just
11 cm of rainfall all the dried up handpumps in the village revived.
Munjka village
of Rajkot district has received just 27 cm of rainfall so far against
an average of 50 cm but the mood is upbeat. All the 90 handpumps and 50
wells have recharged following the construction of 11 check dams and farmers
expect a good harvest. Says sarpanch Vibhabhai Ahir: "Thanks to this
new water storage facility, we can hope to get a good winter crop, something
we have just been dreaming about all these years."
In Mudila
village of Jamnagar district, the water situation was so bad that villagers
had to buy water for the construction of the five check dams. Today, all
the five dams are overflowing despite an unsatisfactory monsoon. The 100-odd
wells in the village are full of water and the villagers expect the crop
yield to double. Says Punjabhai Nandia, a farmer and sarpanch of Mudila,
pointing to the overflowing dams: "I've never seen such abundance
of water in my life. It seems like a dream because it has happened so
quickly."
Indeed,
the success of the BYOD scheme has resolved the water crisis that had
bedevilled Saurashtra for the past few years. Launched by Chief Minister
Keshubhai Patel, it draws inspiration from a voluntary movement started
by Mansukh Suvagiya and Mathur Savani early last year for building check
dams to replenish the fast-depleting ground water in the region.
Designed
to counter red tape, the simple scheme requires villagers to form a group
of at least 11 members before applying for assistance to the local small
irrigation department official. A quick feasibility study is done and
the funds immediately sanctioned after the site is cleared by the local
official. The Sardar Patel Water Recharging Scheme, a body floated by
the Government to implement the project, maintains a tight vigil over
government machinery. Interestingly, the Government had earmarked Rs 50
crore for the scheme but after the overwhelming response of the villagers
(nearly 25,000 applications were received), the limit was removed.
However,
some people feel that the rampant construction of check dams has a downside.
For instance, Rajkot draws drinking water from the Bhadar river. But the
400-odd check dams in its catchment area will considerably reduce the
inflow into the Bhadar dam, spelling trouble for the citizens of Rajkot.
Other rivers will also face similar problems.
These glitches
apart, there are a number of spinoffs of this revolution. For one, the
rising of the water table means that power consumption will go down. This
means substantial savings because the farm sector accounts for almost
40 per cent of the total power consumed in the area. Secondly, the improvement
in the quality of rural life will scale down the migration to cities.
Also, it will foster social harmony as people from different castes work
together for a common goal.
But by far
the biggest benefit is that the scheme will give villagers the confidence
to solve their problems themselves.
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