Stories of Change
Stories of Change
Malgujari Talav
Parwa village in Ghatanji taluka, with a population of around 8,000, had been facing severe drinking water scarcity for many years. Every year, water tankers were required from January onwards as all local water sources dried up. Frequent conflicts over water had also occurred, and one person even lost his life due to a water dispute.
To address this crisis, the village’s Malgujari talav was rejuvenated during 2016–17 and 2017–18 by removing 43,270 cubic meters of silt. This significantly improved water storage and groundwater levels. As a result, Parwa village has remained tanker-free for the last eight years.
Khateshwar Talav
The Khateshwar talav in Kalamb taluka was constructed around 60 years ago by Khateshwar Maharaj. However, due to the absence of desilting for many years, the lake lost its storage capacity and used to dry up every year by January–February. The nearby wells were also affected due to water scarcity.
To restore the lake, a total of 33,000 cubic meters of silt was removed. The silt was used by 32 farmers on nearly 100 acres of farmland, which helped improve soil fertility. As a result, 23 nearby wells benefited from increased water availability, and the talav has not dried up for the past eight years. Farmers are now able to continue irrigation even during the summer season.
Dham Rejuven
An 18 km stretch of the Dham River in Wardha district, considered a lifeline for the region, was rejuvenated through a comprehensive river restoration initiative. The work mainly included river cleaning, widening the river channel up to 50–60 meters, and rejuvenating 19 deep water pools.
This intervention benefited at least 103 farmers on both sides of the river and brought nearly 300 hectares of land under irrigation. The rejuvenation work also improved water availability in 9 drinking water supply wells.
Additionally, the project supported the water supply schemes of Pimpri Meghe and 10 other villages under the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran.
Sonkhas
A total of 11,453 cubic meters of silt was removed from the Sonkhas lake in Kalamb taluka. This intervention helped increase the groundwater level in nearby wells and provided protective irrigation facilities to around 117 acres of farmland. Additionally, the long-standing drinking water supply issue of two village has also been resolved.
NALLA Deepening & Widening
Deepening and widening work of streams covering 17.3 km was carried out in the three talukas of Ghatanji, Yavatmal, and Kalamb in Yavatmal District. This work protected the land of 162 farmers from floods and increased the irrigation area by 688 acres. It also led to a significant rise in the water levels of 116 wells, borewells, and hand pumps.
Earthen Dam
Youth from Lingapur and Dhanora villages in Ghatanji and Yavatmal talukas demanded the construction of earthen nala bunds. Accordingly, a total of 12,734 cubic metres of earthen nala bund work was completed in both villages. This created an additional water storage capacity of 12 TCM and significantly increased the water levels of 33 nearby wells, borewells, and hand pumps. Farmers in the surrounding areas are now using the available water for irrigation.