The recent drought has cast its evil spell on
various parts of the country. The soaring temperatures and a deficit rainfall
for over a year had serious implications on the water levels and agriculture.
In states like Maharashtra the water scarcity was at an alarming level that
water had to be transported through trains.
Why are we facing such a situation? Are we
really responsible for this? Absolutely yes! We encroached upon our lakes,
destroyed our forests, polluted our rivers in the disguise of progress.
Progress is good but it shouldn’t destroy the very basic necessity of life and
this is nothing but greed. The el nino had serious effect on the rainfall
for a year, many states had received a deficit rainfall and we were not ready
for this.
What is the way forward now? the answer is water conservation. Water conservation is necessary because every drop of water
Is precious, according to the statistics the World Bank estimates
that by the year 2025 3.25 billion people in 52 countries will live in conditions
of water shortage. A small step will make a great difference. There are many
ways for water conservation and most importantly this should be a continuous activity
involving every citizen, in short it should be a revolution. One such
revolution is brought in Andhra Pradesh thanks to “inkudu guntalu” programme. The
aim of this programme is to encourage people to dig water harvesting pits at
their homes with public representatives leading the campaign. Eanadu, a
vernacular telugu media group has given a much needed boost to this programme by
turning it into a campaign.
How does a rain water harvest
pit work?? Just dig an 8-foot hole into the ground and 4 feet width near the motor and add pieces
of bricks and sand layer by layer until the hole is covered. Now just connect a
pipe between the water sump and the pit. When it rains, all the water is
absorbed by this pit thus recharging the ground water. This is a simple
technique of tapping rain water and making it into use. The major benefit is it
is cost efficient, there won’t be any need of spending a huge amount of money
on digging bore wells. About 90% of
ground water is used for drinking purposes, this rwh pit will help in
addressing the drinking water scarcity particularly in summer.
The rwh pit used in farms is called a farm
pond. This is a larger pit where the rain water can be used for irrigation or
aquaculture. This saves the farmer the cost of digging bore wells and in arid
areas precious rain water can be used for irrigation without wasting even a
single drop. This will also help the
farmer in earning an extra income through raising fish in these ponds.
The response to the inkudu guntalu programme is
tremendous in all the 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh. The government of Andhra
Pradesh has aimed at digging 8 lakh pits and 6 lakh farm ponds this year. But the
count for rwh pits has crossed 10 lakhs already. The government has set a new
target of 8 lakh farm ponds in the coming year. Prime minister Narendra Modi has even lauded the AP government's effort in his maan ki baat address.
Why should rain water harvesting be limited to
rural areas?? Roof top pits will be a best option particularly in apartments. This
helps in addressing the constant water scarcity in cities. The civic
administration must pass a rule that every new construction must include a
provision for rain water harvesting pit.
what started as a small drop has now become an ocean.
The active participation of people has taken a long way beyond success. In coming
days I am sure we will see drought free areas in Andhra Pradesh and stand an inspiration
to this country.
The recent drought has cast its evil spell on
various parts of the country. The soaring temperatures and a deficit rainfall
for over a year had serious implications on the water levels and agriculture.
In states like Maharashtra the water scarcity was at an alarming level that
water had to be transported through trains.
Why are we facing such a situation? Are we
really responsible for this? Absolutely yes! We encroached upon our lakes,
destroyed our forests, polluted our rivers in the disguise of progress.
Progress is good but it shouldn’t destroy the very basic necessity of life and
this is nothing but greed. The el nino had serious effect on the rainfall
for a year, many states had received a deficit rainfall and we were not ready
for this.
What is the way forward now? the answer is water conservation. Water conservation is necessary because every drop of water
Is precious, according to the statistics the World Bank estimates
that by the year 2025 3.25 billion people in 52 countries will live in conditions
of water shortage. A small step will make a great difference. There are many
ways for water conservation and most importantly this should be a continuous activity
involving every citizen, in short it should be a revolution. One such
revolution is brought in Andhra Pradesh thanks to “inkudu guntalu” programme. The
aim of this programme is to encourage people to dig water harvesting pits at
their homes with public representatives leading the campaign. Eanadu, a
vernacular telugu media group has given a much needed boost to this programme by
turning it into a campaign.
How does a rain water harvest
pit work?? Just dig an 8-foot hole into the ground and 4 feet width near the motor and add pieces
of bricks and sand layer by layer until the hole is covered. Now just connect a
pipe between the water sump and the pit. When it rains, all the water is
absorbed by this pit thus recharging the ground water. This is a simple
technique of tapping rain water and making it into use. The major benefit is it
is cost efficient, there won’t be any need of spending a huge amount of money
on digging bore wells. About 90% of
ground water is used for drinking purposes, this rwh pit will help in
addressing the drinking water scarcity particularly in summer.
The rwh pit used in farms is called a farm
pond. This is a larger pit where the rain water can be used for irrigation or
aquaculture. This saves the farmer the cost of digging bore wells and in arid
areas precious rain water can be used for irrigation without wasting even a
single drop. This will also help the
farmer in earning an extra income through raising fish in these ponds.
The response to the inkudu guntalu programme is
tremendous in all the 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh. The government of Andhra
Pradesh has aimed at digging 8 lakh pits and 6 lakh farm ponds this year. But the
count for rwh pits has crossed 10 lakhs already. The government has set a new
target of 8 lakh farm ponds in the coming year. Prime minister Narendra Modi has even lauded the AP government's effort in his maan ki baat address.
Why should rain water harvesting be limited to
rural areas?? Roof top pits will be a best option particularly in apartments. This
helps in addressing the constant water scarcity in cities. The civic
administration must pass a rule that every new construction must include a
provision for rain water harvesting pit.
what started as a small drop has now become an ocean.
The active participation of people has taken a long way beyond success. In coming
days I am sure we will see drought free areas in Andhra Pradesh and stand an inspiration
to this country.
Very good. Appropriate timing. This was mooted by Chandrababu during his last term. But no one cared.
ReplyDeletei think this campaign must be initiated at a national level serious drought must addressed
DeleteNice one.
ReplyDelete