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Eco-Friendly Measures Save VillagesThe Pioneer, Every day the residents of Sukhomajri, and Mandhala live out the credo that where there is a will there is a way. These are small hamlets located in the shivalik foothills, on the Pinjore Nalagarh road. Till 1975. 224 families in these villages had no source of irrigation and crop failures were common. This had compelled the villagers to keep large herds of cattle, particularly goats, to eke out an existence. Over grazing and deforestation had lead to severe soil erosion and saltation of the Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh. Attempts to resuscitate it through mechanical and vegetative measures did not succeed due to lack of cooperation from the people. In a second attempt their participation was sought and today 150 families are multi-cropping like the farmers in the plains. Availability of irrigation water from harvested rainwater in the earthen dams proved to be the panacea, which has increased food grain and fodder many times over. Current production is pegged at 3-4 quintal per bigha. Animal husbandry was given a boost and the farmers graduated to rising buffaloes, this in turn increased milk production, which leads to higher income. This leads to realization about the importance of hills and conservation of its vegetation, this special fencing was directly linked to their economic interest. A village society known as ‘Hill Resource Management Society’ was constituted which accepted the responsibility of protecting the hilly area from over grazing and illicit felling of trees, distribution of irrigation water from dams and maintenance of dams water conveyance systems and other assets. With the elimination of biotic interference the stock of trees and grass improved sustainability, which reflected in reduction of run-off and soil loss. Mandhala, a village there 64 families are living, the central soil and water conservation Research and training institute had developed a permanent catchment area, for consistent flow they diverted one catchment’s water into another. They developed a seepage tank, where water from the shivalik foothills is stored. It is being said that after the rainy season water from the mountains percolates and the villagers store it in a pond and use it to irrigate 2-3 acre land. Earlier it was totally rainfed land or barren land but now the farmers are cultivating potatoes garlic, wheat maize, mustard tomatoes which had increased the per capita income in village. From this year they have started a fishery in the catchment, from where they expecting an income of Rs. 2.5 lakh this year. The village society is even selling catchment water for irrigation at a Rs. 70 per hour, enough to irrigate one acre. It is a complete transformation and the ground water level is only 200 feet. |
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