Thirty villages in drought-affected Aurangabad district are reportedly free of dependency on tanker water, thanks to efforts by social organisations working under the State government’s Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan.
Much of the work has been done by the Jankidevi Bajaj Gram Vikas Sanstha (JBGVS), the social arm of Bajaj Auto Ltd, which began working in over 50 Aurangabad villages in 2016. The trust claims its efforts at increasing storage capacity ultimately led to better percolation of water.
According to JBGVS officials, the work involved widening and deepening streams and nullahs over 55 km at sites upstream of the existing cement nullah bunds (CNB) in Paithan, Vaijapur, Gangapur and Fulambri taluks. Five percolation tanks were also de-silted over the past year. The efforts have created 25,000 TCM of surface water storage capacity.
“The watershed work has recharged the aquifers. In the one-km periphery of the deepened streams, wells and borewells that had earlier dried up are now rejuvenated with water levels increasing by three to seven metres,” Randhir Patil, project manager, JBGVS, said. He added that the drinking water problem has been resolved without involving tankers in these 30 villages.
He said in many cases, multiple crops were being sown due to the availability of water.
