| |
|
|
| Jal yatra |
||
Gujarat: the journey begins |
||
| Raj-Samadhiyala, Rajkot |
||
| SECOND STOP: | ||
| Harkahala, Sabarkundla, Amreli |
||
THIRD STOP: |
||
| Mandlikpur, Rajkot |
||
FOURTH STOP: |
||
| Mahudi, Dahod | ||
| RAJASTHAN:
THE STOP OVER |
||
FIRST STOP: |
||
| Kesrisinghpura,
Dausa |
||
SECOND STOP: |
||
| Neemi, Jaipur |
||
THIRD STOP: |
||
| Gopalpura, Alwar |
||
FOURTH STOP: |
||
| Khoili, Karoli |
||
FIFTH STOP: |
||
| Shehajpura,
Sawai Madhopur |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
| Vol.3 | No. 3 |
June 2001 |
Jal yatra
Three years of consecutive drought in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and other parts of the country has impacted upon millions of human and animal lives. But even in such adverse conditions there are hundreds of villages that have remained unscathed from the severe drought spell through their water conservation activities. These villages, like the others too were exposed to the adversity of drought. But they sailed through the crisis more comfortably because of the judicious water management strategy, collectively adopted by the community. As a result of it, drinking water was still available even though there was crop failure due to acute water shortage.
 |
Mad rush for water: the villagers in Amreli district getting water after a week |
In order to assess how villages that had adopted water conservation had fared during the drought, Down To Earth (DTE) reporters travelled to villages in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
At the end of the visits, what came out clearly was that villages that had adopted water conservation were better equipped to deal with monsoon failure. Moreover the availability of water is directly proportionate to the years of water conservation and the presence of village level institutions for equitable distribution and judicious usage of the scarce resource. For example, Raj-Samadhiyala village in Rajkot district, Gujarat has adopted water conservation since the mid 1980s. They have established the fact that water conservation means sustained efforts but it definitely has a positive impact. The village harvested two crops and some residents even took up the third crop. A strong village level institution made equitable use of water possible even during a crisis.
Villages covered under the watershed development programmes managed the year 2000 drought better than those without such programmes |
On the contrary, villages without any water conservation activities have been badly hit by the drought in all the affected states. A study by the Development Support Centre (DSC), an Ahmedabad-based non governmental organisation (NGO), shows that villages covered under watershed development programmes managed the 2000 drought better than those without such programmes. Says Anil C Shah, the chairperson of DSC, "Villages with few years of soil and moisture conservation activities are way ahead of other villages as far as fodder and drinking water supply is concerned." A classic example is of, Kasturbadham, a neighbouring village of Raj-Samadhiyala. In this village water level has done down drastically and as a net result residents have been forced to migrate for better opportunities. In April 2001, the panchayat approved a borewell but water could not be found even at 1500 feet. Says Haranath Jagawat of N M Sadguru Water and Development Foundation, a Dahod-based NGO, "The biggest advantage these villages have is that once it rains most of the water will be conserved." DSC’s survey shows that watershed development lays the foundation for increase in productivity of local resource. According to the survey, reaping higher gains from the potential created requires several initiatives and measures through linkages to the resources of knowledge, credit and marketing. This is known as ‘watershed plus’, which may be either undertaken parallel with watershed development or may be sequenced later." the survey suggests.
This jal yatra DTE staffers was one through villages which have rediscovered water.