Renovation of water bodies brings prosperity
INTRODUCTION
Badera Bharas Gram Panchayat falls under Bhitarwar block in Gwalior District. Occurrence of low rainfall over many years had created a situation where the villagers could not fulfil their domestic and agricultural needs. During summer, the villagers had to walk around 3 km to fetch drinking water. All the hand pumps and wells had dried up due to depletion of groundwater. Consequently, agricultural productivity declined, and the land had started turning fallow. Overall, the situation was such that the villagers were compelled to migrate. Therefore, the Gram Panchayat decided to undertake different water conservation and harvesting works by constructing check dams, canals and renovation of ponds.
IMPLEMENTATION
During the years 2015–2019, the Gram Panchayat carried out different activities like construction of check dam, renovation of water bodies, farm ponds, etc. under MGNREGS to mitigate the water problems. Small gatherings and awareness campaigns were conducted throughout villages to make people aware about the acute water shortage in the area. Five works were undertaken in the Badera Bharas Gram Panchayat. Among these five, two works of construction of check dams and two works of widening/deepening of the canals were taken up in Toda and Badera villages at a cumulative cost of Rs. 49.1 lakhs. Another work related to renovation of pond, to increase storage capacity, in Jujharpur village of the same panchayat at a cost of Rs. 7.01 lakhs was also completed.
IMPACT
The construction of check dams and renovation of ponds have improved the water retention capacity of the soil, which gradually helped in increasing the groundwater level. All the dry wells and hand pumps have started functioning again which has positively impacted 150 households in the village. With assured irrigation, the 106 hectares of area under cultivation for 400 farmers has increased for both seasons. The improvement in farm productivity of different crops registered an almost 200% increase in earnings of farmers’ income. The workers stopped migrating to other places in search of work.
VOICE
“After deepening of the tank, storage capacity has increased, and we are able to cultivate two crops in a year. Earlier, we used to migrate to different places in search of work. Now, we are getting enough employment in the village itself”. — Mr. Rajendra Singh Yadav, Farmer
“When we had the problem of water scarcity, we were facing difficulties to find marriage alliances for men in the family as parents from other villages were not willing to marry off their daughters in Badera Bharas village due to water scarcity”. —Mr. Punjab Singh Yadav, Farmer
