The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Livelihood activities attract people to watersheds

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Oct 16, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Others

Livelihood activities attract people to watersheds

By B. Chandrashekhar

A farm pond with a dry land horticulture plot in the background at Kandlapalli village of Anantapur district.

KANDLAPALLI (ANANTAPUR DT.), OCT. 15. Introduction of livelihood activities in watershed programmes from the current year in place of the entry-point activity implemented hitherto appears to have found the missing link with a larger group of population in a village. The new activities are likely to take the watersheds closer to the people and in turn make them successful further.

A visit to the tiny interior village in Pamidi mandal for observation of several livelihood activities taken up as part of the watershed sanctioned there last year proved that the new aspect of watersheds had gone well with people so far. It has helped improve the involvement of general public in watersheds against the involvement of only the land owners of watershed area and the committee.

Priority areas

"Concentration of watersheds has been on soil and water conservation works so far. But, now the aspects of livelihood and improvement of vegetation are also being given priority,'' the Project Director of District Water Management Agency (DWMA), P.S. Raghavaiah, said. Implementation of livelihood activities to participant groups (grama aikya sangham-GAS) is attracting more and more villagers to the watersheds.

While the entry point activity was community-based and used to attract less villagers, livelihood activities are developing a sort of competition among the villagers to get involved in watershed programmes. The amount spent on EPA was a one-time grant, but the amount for livelihood activities (Rs. 9 lakhs out of Rs. 30 lakhs meant for a watershed) is being given as a revolving fund.

There are 12 groups of 15 members each in the village. Of them, 72 members were given livelihood assistance in first instalment. "As manyas 62 of us have taken ram lambs (two each) and another 10 have opted for other activities,'' Venkatalaxmi, president of the GAS, said. Each beneficiary were given an assistance of Rs. 2,500 each by the village organisation, which would keep the revolving fund given to the watershed sanctioned under AP Rural Livelihood Project (APRLP), a social mobiliser, Esther Rani, said.

Padmavati, who was given a sewing machine a month ago as part of the livelihood activity, said she was getting the customers slowly. "It will definitely help improve my family's income,'' she hoped. Shiva Reddy, who opted for vermi compost unit, said he was saving about Rs. 1,700 every 45 days, which he would have invested otherwise for the fertiliser cost to his 200-tree sweetlime orchard. "I am using the vermi compost prepared with the worms given under the livelihood programme and it is a continuous process,'' he explained.

Repayment

Repayment by the beneficiaries has already commenced and it is 100 per cent, said the coordinator of multi-disciplinary team (MDT), Krishna Reddy. The VO of Kandlapalli was also given a tropicultor worth Rs. 38,000 for the community use of sowing seed along with fertilizer.

A few other beneficiaries had opted for seed development and dryland horticulture with farm pond. Their activities are also successful this year.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh

News Update

Stories in this Section

Livelihood activities attract people to watersheds

Dharna in protest against Pulichintala project

People asked to participate in town development

Don't politicise Pulichintala: YSR

Central team to visit villages in Medak

Dalits appeal to Punnaiah

Constable posted at YSR's meeting dies of stroke