A small team of dedicated people has done a small work on conservation of water.

 It has given good results.

More important - it has caused awakening amongst village folks.

 The quiet, calm villagers are coming forward for taking up more work for water conservation.

 This has made the team to look forward to a larger dream.

 Our dream is given on the next page.

 A brief description of the actual work done is given on pages 7 to 14.

 The philosophy in this work is given on pages 17, 18, 19.

We have started small work in Surendranagar District in the Gujarat State of India.

Let us consider the water position of this district.

In this area monsoon/rainy season is during 15^th June to 15^th September. Normal rainfall is between seven to fifteen inches.

Domestic Use. In most villages, the rivers are dry in October itself. By December, lakes are dry. By February, the wells go dry, when the real heat starts (about 42 degree centigrade), in April to June, water is most scarce. For drinking water there is difficulty.

For other domestic uses one has to economise to a great extent. People somehow survive. For domestic animals - cows, buffaloes etc. it's a tough time. Stray/Jungle animals & birds have no source.

Agriculture. Farmer is almost totally dependent on the rain god. Rains are most erratic. Many times, even the cost of the seeds & fertilisers may not be recovered in the sale proceeds of the crops.

15 inches rainfall is sufficient for the farmer. Rains may be adequate. Yet, because of the erratic nature, the crops may dry or be washed out in floods.

Since water in adequate quantities is not stored - More than 90% water runs off to the sea. The farmer cannot be sure of water availability to the farm.

During rain season 1997, Surendranagar district had more than 30 inches of rain fall. Yet, this year, in April, several villages are affected by water scarcity.

Industry. Because of the water scarcity, new industries do not come to this district. In the whole of Gujarat, Surendranagar district gets lowest amount of new industrial investment.

Senior managers would not like to come & stay in an area affected by water scarcity.

There has been a steady migration - outflow of people from this district to Ahmedabad, Mumbai and outside India. - Fifty years before, and even today.

Government is doing a great job.

Government is constantly building several dams, lakes and other water works.

Largest project undertaken by the State Government is - The Narmada Sagar Dam Project.

And yet, Government has several limitations of different kinds. Alone, Government won't be able to solve the vast problem of water conservation.

We, the people must join in the exercise.

We must do projects within our resources.

Government should do large projects as per its own resources.

At the people level, not much work is done so far for water conservation.

We have a large number of charitable people making substantial donations. Their donations are always directed towards - education, temples, hospitals and orphanages.

Each one of the above is important.

In the fifties and sixties, there was tremendous shortage of schools, colleges and hospitals. Today, in most areas, we have adequate facilities. There are some cases where excess, unutilised hospitals are there.

It is desirable that a portion of the donations may now be directed towards the basic necessity - water.

A small group of people from Limbdi & Mumbai have come together and formed a charitable trust. Even before all Government registrations were received, the group put in its own funds, collected some donations and started the work in the year 1996.

Full story in details will be given in the next edition of this series of booklets. Briefly, the work done was as under.

Background:

Limbdi has four lakes :

All the four lakes are linked to each other by a canal so that overflow of one lake should go into the other.

Ram Sagar lake has three different canals bringing in water from three different directions. It has two outflow canals -

One for automatic overflow of water;

& the Second for Controlled outflow when desired.

It is an excellent and well planned system designed well before independence.

All the lakes are supposed to recharge the underground water table. The city has several big and small wells and hand pumps to meet their daily requirements.

For the last thirty years, no one had taken care of this excellent water storage & recharging system. As a result, big trees - as dense as a mini - forest - had grown into the canals. Hence, the inflow of water had reduced considerably.

Every year, the rain water brought with it, a lot of silt - which settled down at the bottom of the lake. Thus the storage capacity of the lake was reduced considerably - (by almost 40%).

This silt forms a sticky soil layer, which reduces water percolation. So the ground water table recharging had reduced drastically. This reduced the water supply to the wells and hand-pumps.

Limbdi - Work Done

two canals bringing in water to Ram Sagar lake have been cleaned up of all the trees, dug up and cleaned. This has improved the water supply to the system.

The Zunjasari lake has been deepened and almost doubled up in size.

This has multiplied several fold, the supply of water in the wells of nearby farms and a factory.

Limbdi Panjrapol (orphanage for animals) is a public charitable institution taking care of old, disabled, and sick animals. Majority of the animals are cows and buffaloes that no longer yield any milk. Also, male calves whom their owners have abandoned.

This trust is operating for more than 135 years. It has pastureland of 500 acres near Laxmisar village.

The trust has to seek donations every year.

We are now trying to make arrangements so that the trust has to depend less on donations. To a great extent, it should become self-supporting - by growing more grass.

The plan is to dig ten small lakes, all over the pastureland. Each lake will be surrounded by small but dense forests. These lakes will improve the ground water table. 10 wells will be dug in the ten lakes. The well water will be used to irrigate the pastures and grow a second crop of grass in a part of the pastureland. Increased grass crop will reduce the cost of purchasing grass and make the trust less dependent on donations.

We have already dug a small lake. Two more lakes are in the process of being dug up. This year, tree plantation around the lakes will be undertaken.

The project as a whole will improve the water table, grow a mini-forest and save trees from animals.
 
 

Jobala is a small village with a population of 5000. The nearest road is about 10 kilometres away. There are no telephones and almost no infrastructure. During monsoon, the village is cut-off from rest of the state. During summer, there is acute shortage of water. The difficulties are so many that most of the trading community people, who could afford, have left the village and settled in Surendranagar, Ahmedabad, Mumbai - or abroad.

When the Jobala people heard about the work done at Limbdi, they requested us to guide them also in improving their water supply.

We have taken out the survey of the village lake, prepared a project report and submitted to the Gujarat State Government.

The lake has probably more than 100 acres of area. In most parts it is at the same level as the normal ground level. Digging up the whole lake for about 10 feet may cost about a crore of rupees (Rupees ten millions). We simply do not have that kind of budget. Hence this project will be done spread over several years and subject to some contingencies.

In the first year, we have taken up the work of strengthening and building "overflow" wall. The normal wall of the lake will be strengthened. A portion of the lake will be deepened.

First year budget is targeted at Rs. 11 lakhs (Rs.1.1 million). Of this, 20% will be provided by the villagers - in cash as well as by providing their own tractors for removing lake soil. 20% is targeted to be collected as donations from outside Jobala. 60% is requested to the Gujarat Government to be provided as grant. We hope to receive this grant. However, in case, this grant is not received for any contingency, Jobala will do as much work as will be permitted by donations collected. The work will go on for next three to ten years depending upon the support, donations and grants received.

A prominent charitable trust has taken up the work of reviving at least twenty lakes in twenty different villages around the city of Than Gadh. Most of the lakes have areas around 100 acres. Because of almost "nil" work done during last several decades, most of these lakes' bottoms are now at normal ground levels. Each lake digging, strengthening of the lake walls etc. can take up a cost of around rupees one crore.

Depending upon the Government and private support, the work will be carried on. In a contingency where no or small support is received, still the Than Gadh charitable trust will complete as much work as can be done by its own resources.

Even if, in each lake, few wells of ten feet depth are dug up, they will considerably improve water percolation. More work can be done depending upon resources.

We are planning to extend this work to Wadhwan City, other villages and slowly to all places within Surendranagar District. Only restriction we have imposed in selecting a village/town is that the local people must volunteer to take up the responsibility of looking after the project and to make some contribution. In cash or in labour. It may be a small contribution. But there must be some contribution.

Chanchalbahen Manilal & Manilal Khushalchand Shah Charitable Trust.

This is a trust established by the children of late Smt. Chanchalbahen and late Shri Manilal. Some of the children are settled outside India.

The trustees have decided to take up the works of
 

The trust has proposed to offer financial help to such charitable activities carried on in Surendranagar district as may be approved by the trustees. It is even prepared to directly take up the projects in any village approved by the trustees.

This trust has received income-tax and charity commissioner's registrations. It has also received approval under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).

Enquiries: Any further enquiries can be made at the following places.

Mumbai

Office Address:

O.K. Oils Storage, Haji Bunder

Road, Opp. Container Yard,

Sewree, Mumbai - 400 015.

Phone Numbers: (009122) 370 2708, 373 8512.

Limbdi

Surendranagar

Office Address:

1^st Floor, Meena Bazar, Mehta Market,
Surendranagar, Gujarat, India.

Phone Numbers: (+9102752) 30296, 30397.

Fax Number: (+9102752) 30296.

Than Gadh