Jalasamrudhi makes it to national stage

Thiruvananthapuram: The ‘Jalasamrudhi’ project which made Kattakada a water-surplus constituency has attracted national attention when it was showcased by the Kerala State Land Use Board at the India Water Week being organised by the Union Water Resources Ministry at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, from Tuesday till Saturday.

The conservation methods included digging of farm ponds, making groundwater recharging pits in institutions, diversion of water from quarries to recharge pits and construction of check dams in streams. These have brought about a drastic change in the ground water situation in the region in the last three years.

Land Use Commissioner A. Nizamudeen made a presentation on ‘Vattatha Uravakayi: Jalasamrudhi-A novel initiative on water cooperation,’ at a session on Thursday. The theme of the meeting was ‘Water cooperation: Coping with 21st century challenges.”

Kattakada MLA I.B. Sathish told DC that he was proud that an initiative in his constituency was being showcased nationally.

The presentation explained the efficiency of artificial recharging as part of the project. As many as 36 institutions have dug  two pits each for rainwater harvesting with a total capacity of 16,000 litres per day for 100 rainy days in Kattakada. This meant a total of 16, 00,000 litres was recharged.

As many as 302 ponds with average capacity of 300 m3 with a total of 30000 m3 each were recharged for 100 rainy days. Inland fisheries was started in six ponds and expanded to 42 ponds.  This ensured income to the farmers to the tune of Rs 10.78 lakh from six ponds. Temporary check dams which regularised flow of water and increased ground water recharge were the other features highlighted in the presentation.

Kattakada had faced major problems before the project, including lowering of water table.  It was under the semi-critical category with the level of water table decreasing over the years. As many as 19,681 wells out of 43,043 dry up in summer and the quality of water was also poor in many areas.

Instances of salt water intrusion have been noticed in parts of Vilavoorkkal grama panchayat. Paddy lands decreased from 1291.31 hectares to 104.67, the paper said.

The majority of the water sources were in a neglected state. The width of drains was reduced, the area of ponds came down and canals were not utilised. All these changed following the introduction of the project, the paper said.