What was once a popular picnic spot for the locals of the Sai barrage in Latur region is now a barren land. Several bad monsoon years and the harrowing droughts in the region hasvetarnished this spot.
Continuous fall of groundwater levels and drying up of River Manjira in the region has forced the villagers to look for long lasting solutions to meet the daily needs of water. Hence Jal Jagruti Abhiyan – Jal Yukta Latur was formed to do the same. Steered by Mahadev Gomare and Markand Jadhav, this project focuses on revival of the Manjira – tributary of river Godavari.
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The project involves desilting 18 km long passage alongside Sai barrage, which will increase the capacity of the barrage. Latur requires 18.25 million cubic meter of water annually. This desilting of barrage will increase the capacity to 18.50 million cubic meter.
"In 2013, we succeeded in convincing people in three villages in Latur district to pool in money to carry out desilting work as well as construct low-cost Gabion structures to trap rain water,'' Madhav Gomare said.
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Villagers in the region have a fair amount of idea about AOL's initiatives and its simple methods to revitalize the dried region. Desilting nullahs, gabion structures and capturing rain water in rivers are just a few practices that villagers need to imbibe.
But there is a caveat to the desilting activity. Mohammad Sarfaraz Shaikh is a senior geologist in Latur. He countered that desilting might mess up the ecological balance. "Workers stop desilting as soon as the sand level shows up because sand holds the water. Silt formation may vary from place to place," he said.
Image Credit: Sandrp.blogspot.com
Story Credit: timesofindia.com
