Punjab: A village shows a state how to save water

The way a soak pit cleans water is by passing it through a bed of stones and then allowing it to seep underground. This resulting increase in the water table yields water that, although not fit for drinking, is good enough for other routine use. This has reduced the village’s dependence on the canal water.

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Kothe Aspal’s success is being recognised at the national level with even the Union Ministry of Rural Development honouring it for constructing soak pits and running them successfully, informs Apneet Riyait, the deputy commissioner of Mansa.

Hand pumps in Aspal Kodhe village of Mansa are no longer dry.(Express photo by Gurmeet Singh)

Looking at the success of this project, 53 new soak pits are being constructed across Mansa district. Further, while the initial round of funding was derived from the funds allocated under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, this time Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited has decided to partially fund (roughly 30 per cent of Rs 8,400) the construction of soak pits under its Corporate Social Responsibility mandate.

“Though small but this effort holds great significance at a time when Punjab’s groundwater table has receded and many of its blocks have been overexploited,” says Riyait.