Hosur: The various water and soil conservation measures taken up by the Hosur Forest Department inside reserve forests prior to the monsoon have started yielding results. These water harvesting structures have not only helped reduce flood damage but also conserved huge quantity of water during the recent rain in Krishnagiri district.
A reeling drought for the past three years had led to depletion of ground water level in these areas, which had led to an acute drinking water scarcity.
In a measure aimed at conservation of rain water during the monsoon period the Hosur Forest Department had taken up various water and soil conservation measures like construction of check dams, percolation ponds, contour trenches and catch water pits in all major water sheds that fall within the Forest Range.
According to District Forest Officer V. Ganesan in the past one year the Hosur Forest Division had constructed four percolation ponds, nine check dams, 50,000 contour trenches, lakhs of catch water pits and 2,500 gully plugging structures and deepening of 25 tanks and ponds in various Reserve Forest areas. The works were taken up under the Tamil Nadu Afforestation Project (TAP), National Afforestation Programme, Food for Work Programme and Socio-Economic Development Scheme.
All these water-harvesting structures helped to conserve about 32 million cubic feet of rain water during the monsoon period alone besides prevention of soil erosion and siltation during the recent floods. The soil conservation structures constructed in watersheds in Forests have helped reduce siltation along the supply channels and inside the dam during this monsoon, Mr. Ganesan added.
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