The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Water project works wonders in Agency

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Water project works wonders in Agency

Santosh Patnaik

Tribals of Gondipakala hamlet cash in on pineapple revolution

Women need not trek long distances for water
CARE-STEP team up with NGO

—Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

reaping the benefits: Tribal women collecting pineapples from farm at Gondipakala village near Chintapalle in Visakhapatnam district.

CHINTAPALLE: It’s a pineapple revolution which has brought about a dramatic change in their lifestyle.

Tribals of Gondipakala village near here are leading a prosperous life extending the area under pineapple farming two fold after inauguration of a drinking water project by tapping from a hill stream through gravitation with underground pipelines. “Due to availability of potable water at our doorstep, we are able to save 10 to 15 mandays a year per family.

The reason: our families are not suffering from water-borne diseases,” says Jogiraju, president, water users’ committee.

The women are a happy lot today as they need not trek about two km. to bring six to eight potloads of water from the hilltop.

The village, which is the panchayat headquarters, has turned a trendsetter with the tribals taking up turmeric, maize, red gram, sama (millet), and jowar in a big way along with pineapple. Jackfruit and mangoes grow in plenty all around the village.

Personal hygiene

“We are happy with the change. Because of easy access to water, we are able to provide bathing to our children twice and wash our clothes regularly.

Our satisfaction level has ultimately motivated us to take up farming in more area,” declares Jarigudu Vaneswarai, a progressive farmer.

Coffee plantation is done in a large area as the tribals need not go to Chitralagoppu junction for pulping.

On an average, they are saving Rs.1,000 per family a year by using locally available water. Now half of the households have their own pulping units..

Though entirely based on rain-fed irrigation, now horticulture and paddy is taken up in 250 acres of upland and 30 acres of wetland.

The village has 117 households with 745 members – most of them Bhagatas.

The water supply by gravitation was taken up by CARE-STEP with the partnership NGO Visakha Jilla Nava Nirmana Samiti by sanctioning Rs.2.50 lakhs and Rs.80,000 through community contribution in 2004.

Change for better

The intervention has totally changed the face of the village.

Today, similar schemes have made pineapple a money-fetching business in several hamlets in Chintapalle, GK Veedhi and G. Madugula mandals in Visakhapatnam district drawing inspiration from the success story of Gondipakala.

Gondipakala was recently included in the Indiramma adarsha village scheme.

“Today, the village has 16 households with their own television and DVD players, 30 tiled houses, 28 slab houses under construction and 28 houses with individual lavaratories,” says sarpanch Janakani Rama Rao with a sense of pride.

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