Jubilee Post News & Views
Dr. Utkarsh Sinha
# The water is used for irrigation in over 250 acre land
For farmer water in field is like blood in body. If there is enough water the crop lives and if water is scarce farmer is left with no option.
Atal Village Bamer is located 15-kms from Jhansi city and people here have agriculture as their chief source of earning. On the verge of loosing the agriculture, farmers here got major support from Parmarth samajsevi Sansthan to bring back life of their crop.
Agriculture is mostly dependent upon rains but the village does not have infrastructure to recharge ground water so that it (ground water) could be used later.
There is only one Nallah flowing beside the village upon which five check-dam have been made by gram panchayat and other departments. These check-dams help sustain water levels in the village.
Majority farmers depend upon these check-dams for water for their crop. If the check-dam has water the farmers can sustain Rabi crop else there is no sufficient water for entire Rabi crop.
Some 15 years before Kunte check-dam was built with support of NABARD and it directly benefited 60 farmers. These farmers could irrigate 250 acre of their land collectively. Irrigation was made easy. Some of the farmer also started Jayad crop, which can sustain excessive heat.
IN 2016 due to excessive rains the check-dam was destroyed. With the check-dam getting destroyed farmers could yield good from Kharif crop but not from Rabi crop as due to scarcity of water they could not irrigate well ther crop. This led to reduced yield from crop for farmers.
IN a time of about two-years the ground water level went down by about four meter. Wells deep by 40 to 45 feet had dried up. At this time farmers who had some wealth got boring done in their field and took ground water for irrigation but those who could not afford had to give up agriculture on half of their land.
Farmers then gave proposal with the Panchayat Samiti for repair of check-dam. Taking up the proposal Parmarth Sansthan got 20-mts check-dam repaired.
Ravindr Sen a farmer in the village said he had to face major difficulty in the years 2017 when the field suffered rain deficit and half of the farmers in the area migrated due to water scarcity. With check-dam being repaired water level will go up and agriculture will also be sustained.
The water body is full of water after repair. It has got over 80-lakh litre of water in it. The wells in the field has seen rise in water level by one meter. This system will in future improve ground water level and provide water to farmers. — Sanjay Singh (Parmarth Samajsevi Sansthan)
The village has enough water now. With rise in ground water levels most of the handpums in village have enough water coming out. This was a small effort made by Parmarth to make the village water sustainable.
Parmarth has been spearheading efforts for ground water conservation, promotion and has been leaders in work taken up for raising ground water level. Various infrastructure work for water conservation in Bundelkhand has been done at minimal cost that has freed many villages free from water crisis and made them water sustainable. Ground water level has gone up, irrigation became easy and drinking water solutions were brought in place.
Also Read : Rejuvenation of the Chandel period pond has become a model in Uttar Pradesh
Also Read : Bundelkhand women with earthen pot on head, not picturesque
Right from young to elderly in village have cooperated in the efforts for water conservation. The little effort is now growing big.
