Agriculture wells turn lifeline in tribal areas

Adivasis fetching water  from a well in Kakarboddi

The Agriculture wells have become a life saver for the people in the rural areas especially in tribal areas in the hot summer and in the wake of depleted groundwater table as they are only drinking water sources now quenching the thirst of the people, unlike borewells.

People are depending on the agriculture wells while a majority of the borewells dried up and were defunct.

Even RWS is getting water from the Agriculture wells and supplying to the people in some villages. There is a need to encourage digging of agriculture wells on a big scale to retain the rainwater and use them during summer.

The success rate of the Agriculture wells is high when compared to borewells and it evident with most of the Agriculture wells quenching the thirst of the people in interior areas.

There is still water in the wells in Pangidi village in Sirpur (U) even in the prevailing successive drought conditions and same within Kakarboddi village.

Most of Kolam, Gond Adivasi of and non-tribals of interior areas are collecting water in plastic and iron drums from the Agriculture wells while borewells serving no purpose.

Sarpanch of Pangidi Atram Jalimsha said Agriculture wells have become more useful than the borewells and observed the most of the borewells has gone dry much before the onset of the summer, unlike wells.

He said the indiscriminate digging of borewells is not serving any purpose without taking measures for rainwater harvesting.

Sidam Laxmi Bai of Kakarboddi said that “the entire village is depending on the agriculture well for drinking water and other purposes.”

In a recent survey, the ITDA, Utnoor has identified that still people are depending on streams and rivulets for drinking water in 133 villages in Tribal areas and there is severe drinking water problem in 28 out of total 52 mandals in the district.

The district received 818.01 mm rainfall this year against the district normal rainfall 1,157 mm and the groundwater table has gone down to -1.48 feet deep further when compared to corresponding period February of last year in the district.