We very well know that field or any agriculture area under cultivation has to be plowed before sowing seeds into it. But have you ever h...
We very well know that field or any agriculture area under cultivation has to be plowed before sowing seeds into it.
But have you ever heard about plowing the river path itself?
This innovative but fruitful attempt took place at
village “Damarkheda” near Shahada, Maharashtra (India).
Let us describe
this effort in the form narrative story. The village “Damarkheda” is situated
on the bank of river “Gomai” a seasonable river that flows in monsoon
until the end of the winter season. The river originates from M.P, flows through
Satpura ranges, and finally meets the river “Tapi”, the place is well known as
“Kashi” of south India.
The villagers were largely dependent on well water because agriculture was their main profession. but besides the fact that the river “Gomai” was flowing adjacently, their wells were completely dry. Even in search of water they bored down deep up to 500 feet or more but could not find water. This fact horrified them and it was hard to believe that their wells and bores were waterless even in the vicinity of the flowing river.
Then the well-known personality
came into the picture. He is Mr. Patil, M.Sc(Agri), and was well aware of the
drastic situation which villagers were facing. Then he decided to help and
promised them the firm solution. He used his knowledge of agriculture, did all
intense research of river flow, the structure of the soil in the path,
condition of river banks, and after 4-5 months came up with a solid solution.
What was his
solution: He gathered all the villagers including the "sarpanch"
(Head person of the village) of the village and said," Let us plow the
river path up to 4 km of an area adjacent to the village in May."Because the
river was seasonable and remains dry in the summer. All the villagers were very
much surprised because they never heard about plowing the river path. But Mr. Patil assured them and asked them to bring their tractors. Then up to length 4
km and 2-3 feet depth, they plowed the river path in about a month. And as
soon as the first monsoon came in July and river started flowing, and
surprisingly on the very next day, their wells and borewells were flooded with
water.
What was the logic behind it: In reply, Mr. Patil explained and said," Along with the river
water some fine particles and small pebbles flow and by forming layer after
layer gets settled on the sand and with the duration of time it hardens and blocks the
water flow percolate and infiltrate and resists water to reach up to wells
and borewells and in turn causing floods.
Conclusion: India
has many seasonable rivers and a large part of the population is settled
adjacent to banks of such rivers. And many villages may be facing the same
problem of water shortage. If such honest efforts are done like plowing
nearby rivers, seasonable rivers, or ponds in a dry period, it would definitely maximize the rate of percolation and infiltration, which will ensure them about
the availability of water throughout the whole year for agriculture or
drinking water. But to achieve this they must not depend upon govt.
authorities, rather they should unite themselves as combined efforts are done
by the villagers of “Damarkheda” under the experienced authority like Mr. Patil.
For our recreational and entertainment, we have
created fictitious characters like superman, iron man, spider man or batman
whose main concern is to overcome imaginary evil forces and save our planet. We need many real characters like waterman, Greenman, solar man, windman, or global cooling- man in the same pattern. We can name them anything but they would
conquer all the existing evil forces and protect our beautiful planet, the
earth.
Because of his innovative efforts, he was awarded as "waterman of Shahada" by Hon'ble collector Mr. Asimkumar Gupta.
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