Farmers of a village construct their own water structure

Bhopal: Water conservation has become crying need in view of increasing paucity of water. For this, both mass awareness and public participation have become imperative. Stop-dams being constructed in Anuppur district are being classified under various categories as per the respective condition. Every stop-dam’s responsibility is being entrusted to government staff after assigning it a unique number. To meet this objective, a campaign is being run with public participation.
Efforts of farmers of village Chhilpa in Anuppur Janpad towards water conservation have proved to be successful in changing their fortunes. The village is dominated by people belonging to Patel farming community. A nullah passing through village Chhilpa flows for some period. But during previous years, less water flowed in the nullah after November. Drawing inspiration from Jan-Abhiyan Parishad, a sandbag stop-dam was constructed on Chhanti Nullah with contributory labour. No assistance was sought from the State Government in this work. The stop-dam yielded good results since the nullah has adequate water this year. Over 10 farmers of the village are getting ample water for their fields. The farmers have decided to sow crops of wheat and gram alongside the nullah. They have also demanded improved seeds from the Agriculture Department. People of nearby villages have visited village Chhilpa to see the nullah bunding and decided to construction effective structures for water conservation in their respective villages.
In the district, villagers are being motivated to construct water structures keeping local requirements and conditions in view.