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For the
first time in India drought proofing, rather than drought
management, was the focus of the state Governments. And for
the past two years these state governments (Madhya Pradesh
& Gujrat) took up water conservation activities in the
hope that monsoon this year would not be wasted even if it
rained below the normal level. Kalakhoont village of Jhabua
district in Madhya Pradesh (MP) spin out of the poverty cycle
with the beginning of rainy season this year. Four days of the
rain filled up to the brim the long- forgotten tank. Now
almost the entire village is enriched by water overflowing
from the tank.
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Crippled
by two consecutive droughts, when an NGO, Action for Social
Advancement (ASA), offered to renovate the tank, it was hard
for the residents to decide to contribute 25 percent of the
tank’s renovation cost of Rs. 3 lakh. Three meters of silt,
which had erroded from the surrounding hills, was removed from
the tank. This was used as manure in farmlands and the tank
was soon renovated. The decision paid rich dividends and now
promises to change the lives of the villagers forever.
According to Nana Basna, President of the Lift-irrigation
Society formed to regulate water use in the village “there
is enough water for the next three years”. The stored water
is enough to irrigate more than 61 hectares (ha) of land. The
recharged wells will be an additional source. Now water is
overflowing from the dam and residents are planning to revive
a defunct lift irrigation point as a result of which three
villages will be irrigated.
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