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DAM-L LS: Check dams spell hope for dry Gujarat (fwd)
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Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 14:07:13 -0700 (PDT)
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subject: LS: Check dams spell hope for dry Gujarat
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SOURCE: THE TIMES OF INDIA, July 27, 2000
Check dams spell hope for dry Gujarat
By Parul Chandra
The Times of India News Service
RAJKOT: The fields are green again and the farmers
busy ploughing them. With the monsoon, the once
parched land in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat is slowly
stirring back to life. The dry rivers too have been
nourished by the rains and `tankas' (water tankers) no
more ply on dusty roads supplying drinking water to
villagers. The farmers in the Saurashtra region have
reason to smile once again.
Besides rains, they have another reason to smile: the large
pools of water which stand trapped behind check dams.
These are water conservation structures basically
consisting of a concrete wall on the slope side to check
the run-off of water. Thanks to the check dams, water is
being harnessed not only for irrigation but to recharge
ground water.
People speak with a degree of effusiveness about the
check dams, nearly 10,000 of which have been
constructed in the drought-stricken Saurashtra, Kachchh
and northern Gujarat areas of the state since February.
Standing beside the check dam he built on Mukhavati
river along with another 10 men, groundnut farmer
Vitthalbhai of Gagna village in Jamnagar district says,
``Even if it doesn't rain again, this water will
last us for at
least another three months and it is also recharging our
wells.''
Built under the Sardar Patel Participatory Water
Conservation Programme of the state government, the
scheme seems to have succeeded where the previous
one for check dams had failed. Sample this - a group of
34 farmers in Dhasirda village in Rajkot district had been
running from pillar to post for the past four years simply
to obtain a government sanction to reinforce and raise
their check dam by a metre. This became possible only
after the new scheme was introduced, says Jadhavji
Thakarji, the pramukh (head) of the group.
Ironically, the earlier scheme for harnessing water through
check dams promised 90 per cent government financing
with the farmers contributing the balance 10 per cent.
The present one has the government contributing only 60
per cent of the expenditure and the farmers are required
to put in the remaining amount.
But the present scheme seems to have succeeded since it
isn't mired in the usual red-tape of floating tenders for
construction. Instead, it seeks people's active
participation. The 40 per cent contribution comes by way
of shramdan (labour), the farmers and their families
obtaining the raw materials and building the check dams
themselves.
Says a proud Arjunbhai Bhurabhai of Gagna village,
"We are reaping the benefits of our hard- work.'' Adds a
beaming middle- aged Kailash Giri, ``If we work hard,
we are bound to benefit.''
But ultimately, it is the rain gods that seem to hold the key
to the success of check dams. Says Jainarayan Vyas, the
minister in charge of Narmada and major irrigations
projects, ``Check dams have their limitations in case of
scanty rainfall or drought. But they are a good
supplementary measure.''
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