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Water harvesting projects yield positive results

JAIPUR: Water harvesting and sustainable agriculture projects launched by a cement manufacturing firm in three districts of Rajasthan as part of its “corporate social responsibility” have started showing positive results by improving the storage capacity of ponds and other traditional sources of water and augmented the crop yield of farmers.

The Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF) sought participation of villagers in its projects for de-silting and deepening of ponds, groundwater recharge and construction of check-dams on riverbeds in Rabriyawas area in Pali district, Chirawa in Jhunjhunu district and Mundwa in Nagaur district.

The ACF provided technical and financial support for executing the projects during the past two years, while the local communities took up cost-effective works such as transportation of dug-out soil, renovation of traditional sources and making arrangements for household consumption of water.

ACF Director Pearl Tiwari said here that the foundation, while taking up simultaneous projects in the water sector, trained the farming community for changing agricultural practices by growing vegetables, increasing horticulture plantation and adopting organic farming.

“Our project officials realised that villagers in the desert State were unable to think beyond water. Even though several of them owned agricultural land, there was simply no productivity,” said Mr. Tiwari, adding that the objective of the ACF projects was to make people participate and get prosperous in their native lands. The foundation de-silted ponds in 25 villages in the Rabriyawas region during 2007-08, increasing water storage in the area by 5.8 mcft. At the same time, the excavated fertile topsoil of 1.44 lakh cubic metres was utilised by farmers in their fields. Pond renovation also answered some of the drinking water problems.

Mr. Tiwari said de-silting and deepening of ponds, locally known as ‘Johads’, in and around Chirawa led to a tremendous increase in their storage capacity, while the simple and cost-effective methods for improving the condition of ponds in Mundwa too showed similar results.

As part of a “technically sound” strategy to deal with the problem of silting of seasonal rivers – which have become narrow and are unable to carry optimal quantity of water – structures were built deep inside the riverbed. A deep vertical cut of 10 to 15 feet was made at an appropriate point at the riverbed. Another such cut was made at some distance and a thick polythene sheet was tied across this cut to make vertical cavities. The silt that was removed from the river was filled in these cavities, forming two “walls” under the surface of the flowing river.

Mr. Tiwari said these structures, called dikes, directed water to flow horizontally across the land and the spread of water increased the water table. Farmers discovered that the level of water in their wells went up and the water stayed for a longer period of time during the year.

As a result of this major intervention, 72 wells were recharged and the farmers were able to move from mono-cropping to double cropping pattern. Crops such as cumin, green gram, isabgol, mustard and wheat and vegetables such as chilli, onion, cabbage, brinjal, tomato and garlic were grown as second crops.

Mr. Tiwari expressed the hope that the focus on water and agriculture in the ACF initiatives would help improve the quality of life of villagers in the State.

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