The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Thalavady villagers all set to face summer

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Tamil Nadu

Thalavady villagers all set to face summer

Karthik Madhavan

Watershed associations have renovated 25 ponds and built 20 surplus weirs

New look: A pond in Thalavady Panchayat has been renovated under the National Watershed Development for Rain-fed Area Programme.

THALAVADY HILLS: Summer 2008 is right at their doorsteps, but villagers in Thalavady hills are not worried. Neither about water nor agriculture.

They were worried, though, but that was long ago. With water requirements, land fertility and agriculture practices taken care of, they are now as prepared as ants are for rains. The change has been brought about through the Central Government’s National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas, implemented in the Hills by MYRADA-KVK, an NGO, with support from the district administration.

Assets

In 5,000 hectares, coming under 10 watershed areas of 500 hectares each, MYRADA and local people, grouped to form watershed users’ associations, have created assets, implemented modern agriculture production techniques and also helped the landless people. Take for example the Tamarai Watershed Association, where the villagers have created earthen bunds on 200 acres of agriculture fields to prevent topsoil erosion and quick run of water on the slopes.

P. Alagesan, project officer, MYRADA, says the aim is to “make the water walk and not run.”

Channels

Along with the earthen bunds, they have built stone outlets on the bunds to direct excess water from the fields to neighbouring channels, desilted four such channels that drain into ponds, renovated the ponds and also constructed weirs to tap excess water from the ponds.

The result of the work, which was on for the past five years, rain water has been utilised to the full, resulting in the rise of groundwater table. And, on the fields, with the top soil remaining intact because of the earthen bunds, yields have increased. The association spent Rs. 6 lakh for the purpose.

Benefits

The benefits of such measures are for everybody to see. Secretary of the Association, R. Ramu, says agriculture activity has spread from 300 to 500 acres. And, yield has also shown an upward trend. “With the topsoil not eroding and land remaining fertile, ragi yield has increased from two to about eight quintals an acre.” The renovated ponds also cater to the residents’ drinking water needs and that of cattle’s.

In addition to the aforementioned asset creation, MYRADA and the watershed users have also adopted best agriculture practices for raising ragi, black gram, maize and ground nut.

They have also given iron ploughs, hand and power sprayers.

Milch animals

And, the landless in the watershed development area, under the Livelihood Support System component, have been supported with milch animals, micro enterprises and by forming SHGs.

Mr. Alagesan of MYRADA says such activities have taken place in all the 10 watersheds in the Thalavady Hills. In all, the watershed associations have renovated 25 ponds, built 20 surplus weirs, created around one lakh metres of earthen bunds, desilted 23, 192 metres of inlet and outlet channels, etc at Rs. 54.89 lakh.

Summing up the impact of such activity, S. Kumaraswamy, a sociologist who works with MYRADA, says nearly 8,000 people in the Hills here have benefited in one way or the other because of the project.

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