BOREWELL RECHARGE A BOON FOR FARMERS IN WATER DISTRESS AREA SUCCESS STORY OF A FARMER

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1 BOREWELL RECHARGE A BOON FOR FARMERS IN WATER DISTRESS AREA SUCCESS STORY OF A FARMER "I had never seen my borewell with so much water. It was like a miracle" says Chitranjan, a farmer from Hubli who implemented borewell recharge structure in his field in Kamplikoppa village of Dharwad district. The borewell was dug in the year 1988 but was left unused due to dearth of water lasting over two decades. Years of water scarcity has been solved by the rain water harvesting technique of borewell recharge. MGIRED Journal Volume 2(1) : ISSN Sikander Meeranayak Sankalpa Rural Development Society, Deshpande Foundation, Hubli infodcse@dfmail.org Agriculture is the backbone of India, but the country is facing water scarcity on daily basis. Almost 68% of net sown areas in India comes under rain fed agriculture and due to fluctuations in rain; uncertainty is increasing in production of crops. Rainwater harvesting seems to be the only sustainable solution to tackle the problem of water scarcity. India is awaiting people and organizations that can play the role of Bhageerath and save Indian Agriculture from the disaster of water scarcity. Sankalpa Rural Development Society (SRDS) is one such organization which is working towards solving the water problem by promoting rain water harvesting in urban and rural 101

2 Borewell Recharge areas. In rural areas, rain water harvesting is done by bore well recharge and in urban areas it is done by roof top water harvesting. In the three years since its initiation, SRDS has implemented over 25 borewell recharge structures, 40 roof top harvesting structures, and over 20 rain water harvesting structures in residences, educational institutions, apartments and industries. Here is the success story of a farmer from Hubli who implemented bore well recharge in his field and is now enjoying better farming. Chitranjan Kallannavar, in association with Sankalp Rural Development Society recharged a borewell in his field a year ago which is yielding excellent results now. The borewell, which is now always filled with water, has solved many issues related to farming. He loves talking to people about the importance of water and the need for saving rain water. "I am very happy to have done this in my field. Bore well recharge has ended the water scarcity I was facing for many years", says Chitranjan. The association: SRDS shows the way Chitranjan met Mr. Sikandar Meeranayak, founder and CEO of SRDS, a year ago and learned about the borewell recharge work going on in his village. After speaking to Sikandar for an hour, Chitranjan started thinking about having his own bore well recharge structure. After a week in July 2010, the work started and in a weeks time, the recharge structure was ready and waiting for the rain. 102

3 Case Study Meeranayak And then comes the success Even after the construction of the borewell recharge structure, Chitranjan was skeptical about its usefulness until one day late 2010 when it rained heavily. With just one day of rain, his pond was filled with water and he witnessed an excess of water in his borewell for the first time. The borewell which had been idle for many years was brought into use 2-3 years back, but the water supply had been inconsistent and would last only for few hours a day. In one day, irrigating even an acre was a problem. After recharging, there has been a steady supply of water in Chitranjan's field where he has planted mango trees. Water comes with full force from 3 inch pipe continuously for 6-8 hours a day. Now he irrigates over 2 acres of land in a single day. Also, there has been improvement in the growth of mango trees. Now, the bore well has capacity to supply water to at least 7-8 acres, Chitranjan wants to convert his 3.5 acres of barren land into banana plantation. The borewell recharge also saved Chitranjan money. Due to lack of water for many years, he had lost hope and was thinking of investing in a new borewell. But he did not know that the problem was not with the structure but the depleting ground water table. Chitranjan feels lucky to have met Mr. Sikandar. He says, "If I had not met Sikandar that day, I would have spent a lakh on new borewell which would not have improved the situation at all. But with the support of SRDS I spent only Rs for recharging the one I already had and the results are incredible". Chitranjan is also spreading the success of bore well water to his fellow farmers. Many farmers visit his field to see his recharge structure and he is more than happy to share the story with them. Chitranjan says, "Borewell recharge by rain water harvesting saves time, water and labor. Whoever faces water scarcity in their borewells should implement this in their field." Chitranjan has another borewell in his field and he sees many differences between the two. The recharged bore well has a greater amount of water and the quality of the water is also better. As the water in 103

4 Borewell Recharge borewell is mixed with rainwater, which also gets filtered underneath the ground, the mineral content dilutes and thus hardness reduces. This results in water that tastes better. Chitranjan recalls his late grandfather who used to collect rain water, store it and drink it Borewell Recharge The Process 1. A pond to collect rain water should be dug at an appropriate location. 2. Pond should be connected to the borewell in field through open channel or underground pipes. 3. Borewell is surrounded by stone pitching wall for primary filtration. 4. Borewell case pipe should be covered with cement wall which has 3 layers of filters. i.e base layer of 40 mm stones, a middle layer of 20 mm stones and the top layer of sand through which water passes, gets filtered and reaches the ground water table. With water collected from each rain, the ground water table increases tremendously resulting in consistent water flow in the borewell. Connecting pipe/channel Dry stone pitching wall Pond/Water collection tank Cement Ring Feeder Channel Stone wall for primary filtration Perforated casing pipe Schematic representation of bore well recharge structure (horizontal view) Perforated casing pipe Sand 20 mm pebbles 40 mm pebbles Ground water Filter structure inside the cement ring in borewell (vertical view) 104

5 Case Study Meeranayak throughout the year. He says, "Saving rain water in today's situation is as precious as having an account in Swiss bank. After seeing the results in Chitranjan's field, his nephew also implemented the structure. But Chitranjan is worried that although bad news spreads very fast in this world, good things like this take time to spread and reach people. Nevertheless, he continues his work and passes on this message to fellow farmers, together with whom he hopes for a better tomorrow with no water scarcity. About Sankalpa Rural Development Society: Sankalpa Rural Development Society is a non profit organization started by Mr. Sikandar Meeranayak in the year The organization majorly focuses on rainwater harvesting and green building technology in the North West Karnataka region. Mr. Sikandar is an expert in rainwater harvesting technology related to domestic, agricultural and industrial purpose. The organization studies a given premise, recommends short-term or long-term plans, designs site specific artificial recharge structures, and implements the project. Contact Mr. Sikandar Meeranyak for more details: Phone: sikandar@srdsindia.org Website: SRDS implemented this project with the support of Deshpande Foundation, Hubli. The aim of the organization is to promote Entrepreneurship and Innovation as the catalysts of change. Over the past 5 years, Deshpande Foundation has supported over 70 organizations in North West Karnataka to implement their ideas in the society. Contact details: Deshpande Foundation BVB College of Engineering and Technology, Vidya Nagar, Hubli Phone: infodcse@dfmail.org Website: 105