At a national programme, “New India Manthan – Sankalp se Siddhi” organised by Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Virinjipuram, on Wednesday, Collector S.A. Raman said groundwater level has increased up to six metres following the construction of 349 ring wells in Kaniyambadi block, and this will soon be expanded to other parts of the district.
Taking part in the programme held in view of doubling farmers’ income by 2022, he said that the district faced acute scarcity of water in the last three moths. The groundwater had gone down to 1,200 feet in areas such as Kandhili and Natrampalli, according to a press release.
It was to improve the groundwater table that ring wells, known as “urai kinaru” in Tamil, and canals were constructed in Kaniyambadi block. This has helped in improving the groundwater level up to six metres.
Next, 400 ring wells will be constructed at Natrampalli and Jolarpet blocks to improve the groundwater table. Later, it will be implemented at Tirupattur, Kandhili, Gudiyatham and Pernambut blocks, he said.
Women roped in
The project was being implemented by involving women employed under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme, he added.
He said that the Prime Minister, during his address to Collectors through videoconferencing 15 days ago, stressed on the need for districts to achieve development in all departments during the five year period – 2017 to 2022. Accordingly, since Vellore was an agriculture-based district, the aim was to make agriculture, a priority, he said in the release. He said farmers, to double their income, should follow certain methods. This included proper handling of irrigation and rainwater harvesting methods to conserve water so that they can continue to cultivate during drought. They should also utilise the soil health card scheme to understand their soil and take up rectification measures if the soil had any problems.
He spoke on various schemes such as crop insurance, value addition and marketing, quality seed production, livestock and poultry. The Collector also inaugurated exhibition stalls and released a booklet during the programme. P. Vasudeva Reddy, Joint Director of Agriculture, Vellore and S. Joshua Davidson, programme co-ordinator of KVK, Virinjipuram were present.
