Moved by poignant stories of suffering coming from drought-hit Maharashtra’s hinterland, social outfit volunteers and IT professionals have taken the initiative to look for long-term solutions, besides arranging for water tankers to address immediate needs.
A group of volunteers from Jnana Prabodhini have started digging wells in the mountainous Velhe and Bhor taluks of Pune district facing an acute water crisis.
“This is ironic considering the fact that the whole region receives about 3000 mm rainfall every year, and is one of the wettest regions. Yet inadequate water-harvesting measures have led to this situation,” said Rohan Panse, one of the volunteers.
Women are forced to trudge up slopes for three-four km in search of water.
“We are trying to build wells wherever potential springs may be found. Digging in these regions is extremely arduous as one is unable to haul heavy machinery over the mountains. There is also need to arrange for temporary bunds,” said Nachiket Nitsure, one of the coordinators.
Drilling tractors dig into the rock, which is then blasted with the help of gelatin explosives. The debris is removed by hand by groups of villagers and urban youth, who travel 70 km to Velhe to help out, said Mr. Nitsure. Volunteers gather every Sunday at 6 a.m. near the city’s Rajaram Bridge.
Continuing good work Jnana Prabodhini has previously done yeoman service in watershed development in villages near the Shivaganga and Gunjavani river basins.
Considering this, the outfit took up work in Bhor taluk. At present, work is going on in three interior villages, Guhini, Metpilavre and Gelgane.
“It is hard work for volunteers as roads leading to the three villages are in poor condition. Each time, a group leader guides a new team of volunteers from Velhe to these villages, where they have to clear the debris immediately after a tough trek,” said Mr. Panse.
He said volunteers work for four hours at a stretch. The debris is cleared by human chains to suitable dumping sites. Since late March, nearly 300 school students have joined the drought relief work.
10 hamlets adopted A group of city-based IT professionals has adopted 10 hamlets in drought-ravaged Latur with the aim of providing practical help like sending water tankers.
“We were shocked to read of reports of women and little children dying during their daily trek to secure water. Initially we started with a couple of villages in mind, owing to our limited budget. Then we started reaching out to friends, colleagues and families using social media,” said Raj Sekhon.
The group decided to focus on those hamlets which did not benefit from administrative largesse. It planned to raise funds without NGO aid. It has adopted Bodaka, Wakadi, Jawala, Kasar, Bhosa, Tanda, Kadmuli , Mahurwadi, Saranwadi Pandhari — all remote hamlets.
“Our group from Pune visits these adopted hamlets each week, driving down 500 km to Latur to assess the water situation. We then arrange for tankers and make sure they reach individual hamlets. Separate tankers are arranged for cattle too. Till date, thanks to an overwhelming response, we have managed to collect Rs.3 lakh in funds” Mr. Sekhon said.
Their efforts have ensured that 100 tankers reach these hamlets every week, with as many as 14 catering to the needs of the livestock. Almost 18,000 villagers are estimated to be benefiting from this endeavour.
