Restoring traditional water bodies and focussing on waste water management can have a far-reaching impact.
An initiative reported from Killai village in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district has helped restore the livelihood of around 250 farmers, most of whom had been forced to migrate to neighbouring States or shift to labour. Some had left farming to become coolies or taxi drivers.
Sokkan Odai , the canal system in the village, was silted and non-functional due to a variety of reasons, including bad maintenance, the onslaught of the tsunami in 2004 and the unprecedented floods of 2015. Its water carrying capacity had reduced to 10 per cent of the original.
To salvage the situation, the local government’s engineering department approached tech company WABAG which, in turn, partnered with charitable trust Hand in Hand India for a remedy. The task included de-silting the channel, deepening and widening it, installing pipe inlets and outlets and building sunken ponds. The results have been heartening and prove that right interventions can go a long way in restoring farmlands.
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