For Rajsamathiala8217;s residents, drought is elsewhere

Some years ago, Rajsamathiala was marked as a no-source8217; village due to lack of a permanent water source nearby. Realising the importance of storing rainwater and maintaining groundwater tables, this village, with a population of 1,500, has invested in 45 check dams, 13 percolation wells and a watershed project. quot;We did not allow the rain water to flow away. By building the checkdams, whatever rain we received was injected into the ground. That is why although this area received just four inches of rain against a normal 20 inches, the bores and wells are abundant in water,quot; says resident Chanabhai Lathia. Village Sarpanch Hardevsinh Jadeja 8211; a postgraduate in literature 8211; informs that the gram panchayat has formed a village action committee with members from all communities, including the Rajputs and the socially backward Patels, to decide on the work to be done.

Thus, this no-source village bagged the first prize of Rs 25,000 as the best village panchayat in Gujarat under the State Government-sponsored Gokul Gram Yojna. Says a proud Jadeja, quot;We supply water daily to all houses with connections. Water is still available at 15 to 20 feet in the bores and there is also enough in the farm wells.quot; The project implementing agency in Rajsamathiala is Griserv Gujarat Rural Institute for Socio-Economic Reconstruction, Vadodara along with BAIF.

The abundance, adds Jadeja, is the fruit of rainwater harvesting and watershed development. quot;We built the check dams over two small streams in the last decade. Subsequently, the percolation wells were dug to harvest the spillover from the checkdams resulting in a percolation rate that was three times more than usual. Since 1980, we have used Rs 2.65 crore received through various grants and rural development schemes.quot; The village has also received the Priyadarshini Award for forest development around the village.

N J Desai, Director of the District Rural Development Agency observes, quot;Rajsamathiala is a success story in optimum rainharvesting and a shrewd implementation of a combination of funds and shramdhan8217; or voluntary labour of the villagers in building the checkdams.quot; Rajsamathiala even roped in the Indian Space Research Organisation to map groundwater movement in the area, identifying dry areas and underground storage spaces. quot;After ISRO8217;s help, all we had to do was to direct the harvested water towards those areas and the water was with for us forever. We also roped in hydrologists and geologists,quot; Jadeja says.

Unlike farmers elsewhere who are also having to deal with crop failure, Rajsamathiala farmers had a good harvest of groundnut and cotton. quot;The failure of rains only affected 30 per cent of production because of a constant source of irrigation,quot; said one farmer. The village even has enough water left over to indulge in afforestation schemes, kitchen gardens and horticulture. And the villagers are confident the water will last till June or even July. A confidence that radiates from a laminated message in Jadeja8217;s office: catch rain water and there is hope in the new millennium.