The collaborative effort made by farmers, their innovative practices to overcome drought and their ability to transform semi-barren land into a green belt have attracted none other than Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Mr. Naidu is all set to visit the nondescript Aravavandlapalle village in Pulicherla mandal of Chittoor district on Saturday, to see for himself how a handful of farmers have taken a giant leap in drought-proofing the cluster of 50 acres of mango garden. Though the village, falling under Diguva Pokalavaripalle panchayat, nestles under hills and borders forest, it suffered groundwater depletion. When close to 20 % of their mango orchards started withering, ten farmers led by S. Subramanyam Naidu decided to do something about it.
Picture of abundance
They formed the Venkateswara Mango Growers Association and dug a community farm pond under the Comprehensive Horticulture Development Mission (CHDM).
By its sheer size (100x100x3m) and holding capacity( 4 crore litres), the farm pond presents a picture of abundance, offering solace and acting as a source of inspiration to the other farmers in drought-prone areas of the district. Against the norm of 3m depth, the farmers went for 7 metres for higher storage.
Apart from storing the water drawn from the borewell, rainwater is also channelled into it through a network of trenches. Water stored in the pond is pumped out through a solar water pump through drip irrigation system to ensure proper utilisation of water.
Smaller ones planned
The State government chipped in with ₹20 lakh for the pond costing ₹35 lakh, besides sanctioning a solar water pump.
Collector P.S. Pradyumna, during his recent visit to the pond, said one more lakh farm ponds, albeit smaller ones, would be dug.
“Water delivery will be better if the government sanctions one more solar pump,” says Mr. Subramanyam Naidu.
More farmers are expected to take the revolutionary path to conserve water.
