BAIF project gets world recognition

PUNE, Aug 12: The city-based BAIF Development Research Foundation's success story in ensuring year-round supply of water for 3000 village...

PUNE, Aug 12: The city-based BAIF Development Research Foundation8217;s success story in ensuring year-round supply of water for 3000 villagers of Titvi, Manhere and Ambewangaon in Akole taluka has not only been published in a compilation of best practices in internationalisation at Canadian universities, but the project has also been short-listed by the United Nations Environment Programme UNEP in its compilation 8211; Saving the Drylands8217;.

BAIF8217;s research project to ensure conjunctive use of surface water and ground water8217; was supported by the International Development Research Centre, Canada. The villagers of the three project villages participated in setting up demonstration sites for appropriate water spreading and harvesting techniques which helped save their time otherwise spent on fetching water from long distances.

Terracing of hillsides was expanded and to augment the water resource, roof top water harvesting, conservation of natural springs, desilting of percolation tanks, deepening of existing wells and construction of check dams were undertaken to provide safe drinking water at closer locations. Twenty-four households have adopted roof top water harvesting systems to collect and utilise rain water while 80 households draw water from six springs.

This was in addition to 73,000 cubic meter of water stored in the reservoirs being 14 masonry checkdams. Water availability has increased by about 750l/d per capita during the driest part of the year while the increased soil moisture has allowed the villagers to obtain a second crop in winter from 75 hectares of land. About 300 ha of wastelands have been brought under cultivation during the rainy season.

The research project was one among 50 success stories on sustainable development selected by the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs in 1998 while a summary of the project was published in a compilation of best practices in internationalisation at Canadian universities by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.