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Bidar to get 1,500 farm ponds

By Our Staff Correspondent

BIDAR, JULY 15. The Bidar Zilla Panchayat will construct 1,500 farm ponds in the district, the vice-president of the zilla panchayat, Arvind Patil, said here today.

The original target of 500 such ponds in the five taluks had been trebled, as the idea of digging the pits in fields to harvest rainwater seemed to have gained immense popularity, Mr. Patil declared at a recent development review meeting. He asked the implementing officials to prepare a Rs. 1.5-crore proposal for the programme.

Agricultural scientists said that there was proof that constructing farm ponds was an economical way of storing rainwater and using it when needed. On an average, a pond with a volume of 150 cubic metres could collect 1.5 lakh litres of rainwater in a single day of heavy rainfall. This could be used for drip irrigation, said Ravi Deshmukh, a scientist from the Krishi Vigyan Kendra.

It rains for 40 to 50 days in Bidar district each year. Heavy rain produces run-off water, which can be stored in farm ponds. Farm ponds were introduced in the district less than a year ago and had now become popular.

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