With several taluks in the State reeling under drought and groundwater table fast depleting, many farmers are making futile attempts to sink borewells to get water by investing a huge sum.
However, a farmer from Lingadhalli village in Chennagiri taluk of Davangere district has developed a “reservoir” (geo-membrane tank) that can store 1 crore litres of water. He has used water from this tank to successfully protect his areca crop cultivated on 24 acres.
The farmer, Siddarth, has developed the reservoir at the same spot where an old well constructed by his grandfather once stood. The well had gone dry two decades ago owing to depletion of groundwater table.
Initially, Mr. Siddarth had sunk four borewells to cultivate areca crop. However, over a period of time, all the borewells went dry and his crop started to wither. In order to find a solution to this problem,
Siddarth approached Hydro Geologist and Rain Water Harvesting Specialist Devaraj Reddy, who suggested him to develop a reservoir instead of investing on another borewell.
After holding a series of discussions and several expert visits, the farmer took up expansion of the 70-ft deep well into a reservoir by pressing two light weight machines into service. In a week’s time, a reservoir, measuring 165X155 ft wide and 68 ft deep, was ready. In order to avoid percolation of water, a high density polythene single sheet (500 microns) was spread inside the tank and the borders were covered with sand bags. Water was pumped into the reservoir from a nearby stream and it filled to its full capacity within few days.
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Siddarth said that the reservoir has played a crucial role in solving his water crisis. There are plans to cover the reservoir with shade nets to ensure that water does not evaporate during the summer, he added. “The stored water in the reservoir will be sufficient to protect the crop for another three months even if there is no rain”, he added.
Mr. Reddy opined that the construction of such a reservoir will help in protecting the available water and farmers can avoid evaporation and prevent children from entering these reservoirs by covering them with shade sheets.
“The cost of constructing a reservoir will be almost equal to that of sinking a new borewell ... it depends on the size of the reservoir,” he added.
Inspired by Mr. Siddarth’s success, another farmer from Mudanur of Vijayapura district has also taken up the construction of such a reservoir with a capacity of 4 crore litres on his 100 acres land, Mr. Reddy added.
