The Hindu Business Line : Kodinar plans micro river-linking project

Even as the Government toys with a Rs 5,50,000-crore river linking scheme, villagers in this small Gujarat town, made famous by the Gir lions spilling to the coastal areas and the country's largest cement plant, have shown that it is possible with a minuscule Rs 2-crore budget.

The plan, prepared by experts from the Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF) in consultation with local villagers, involves linking of three seasonal streams through channels running parallel to the coast and saving rainwater in reservoirs, which would later be used for irrigation.

"We plan to start work soon after the rains get over. The State Government has already agreed to give 60 per cent funding for the project but we are trying for 80 per cent contribution. The scheme was worked out in consultation with the villagers, who are more familiar with the area. Moreover, they know their requirements best," says the ACF Senior Project Manager, Mr Haribhai Mori, who is coordinating the work.

According to the proposal, Singhora, Somvat and Goma rivers, which originate in the Gir forest and flow into the Arabian Sea, would be interlinked. The NGO has already repaired a tidal regulator at the mouth of the Singhora river and laid a one-km underground pipe to direct water into a reservoir near the loading jetty of Ambuja Cements.

Mr Mori says that the 13.5-km `spreading channel', which would link the three seasonal rivers, would create a surface storage capacity of nearly 800 million cubic feet (mcft) in addition to recharging ground water and reversing the increasing trend of salt water ingress. The project would benefit 16 villages and cover nearly 20 per cent of the land in Kodinar block.

"Due to the saline ingress, water in most wells along the coast had become unfit for human consumption. To tackle the problem, we have sealed several wells with concrete that allows only sweet water from close to the surface to flow in. That has helped us reclaim several wells in the area," Mr Mori said.

The Joint President of Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd, Mr H.S. Patel, told Business Line that all the social work carried out by the company-promoted NGO was based on local requirements and using traditional knowledge. ``We have already created 700 mcft water storage capacity through check-dams, causeways, percolation tanks and waste weirs (that seal the ends of a small reservoir and prevent run-off),'' Mr Patel said.

"A large number of Ambuja Cement employees associate themselves with ACF's activities. The passion that drives us to produce the best cement in the country also eggs us to contribute for social development. After all, service to the neighbouring community is our responsibility," Mr Patel said.