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NETWORKING |
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| Carrying a torch to dark zones |
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INITIATIVE |
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| Helping themselves Bank loans to harvest water Where there's a will,there's a way |
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POLICY |
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| Watershed development: what next |
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TECHNOLOGY |
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| Creating their own water world Simple yet effective |
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TRADITION |
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| The dharma of water |
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FUNDING AGENCY |
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| Netherlands Development Cooperation Programme |
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CAMPAIGN |
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| Concern for common resources Schools efforts We beg to differ |
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DROUGHT |
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| A stark reality |
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Vol. 2
No.
6
December 2000
Bank loans to harvest water s
| Faced with perpetual problems of water quality
and uncertain availability over the past decades, the residents of Gandhigram in Gujarat’s Kachch district have mitigated their water problem. The initiative was accomplished with the assistance of a loan from the Kutch Gramin Bank to build a checkdam on the Khari river. The dam was constructed in March 1999. The dam is 11metres (m) high and 81 m long, with a storage capacity of 0.6 million cubic metres. Prior to the dam, the residents were totally depended upon government’s piped water supply and few unpredictable borewells. With both these sources running dry in summer, the residents were left without any water yielding sources. Persisting water problem, motivated the villagers to harvest rainwater. The enterprising community mobilized the entire financial resources without any government assistance. For generating funds Gram Vikas Mandal, a unit of the reputed non-governmental organisation, Sri Vivekanand Research and Training Institute, Mandavi formed a user group named Balram Kisan Mandal (BKM) on the basis of an open invitation to the entire village. More than half of the village became members of this group. They mobilized a non-resident Indian to provide a loan of Rs 15 lakh. This amount was supplemented by a five year bank loan of Rs 5 lakh at an interest rate of 16 per cent. Voluntary labour from the community amounted to another Rs 7 lakh to the project. The members of BKM have agreed to repay the entire loan within five years, not to irrigate more than 5 acres each, and to bear the total cost of operation and maintenance of the check dam. The efforts of the residents of Gandhigram has motivated other villagers to harvest water. As a result the Kachch Gramin Bank has received proposals for replicating this initiative. The benefits of the checkdam are tangible. The village has got definite source of drinking water and also recharged the underground aquifers. Further, this check dam has helped villagers to grow an annual kharif crop, which was not cultivated before. For further information: Sri Vivekanand Research and Training Institute, Nagalpur Road, Near Jain Ashram, Mandvi-Kachch- 370465 Phone: 02834-20253, 20938 |