Coconut farmers in a few villages in Sulur Panchayat Union have the luxury of not watering their field for at least a month a year, thanks to the District Rural Development Agency’s intervention under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme.
“The Agency had raised the bunds of coconut farms in Kittampalayam and a few other villages using persons engaged under the MGNREGA scheme. This led to water stagnation in the coconut fields, thereby eliminating the need for farmers to water for a month,” says farmer M. Vetrivel.
Raising of the farm bunds was one of the many works that the Agency had taken up for the development of River Kowsika and areas dependent on it under the scheme. The other benefit is that ground water level has increased by at least a few feet there, he adds.
The Agency took up work in 2018-19 to rejuvenate the river with a three-pronged approach – erosion control measures, groundwater recharge and rejuvenation of water bodies, says the Agency’s Project Director, Coimbatore, S. Kavitha.
The Agency, based on technical input given by the Art of Living organisation, decided to construct boulder checks to control erosion, slowdown the speed of running water and increase soil moisture.
Of the 526 boulder check proposed across the river’s course in five panchayat unions – Periyanaickenpalayam, Sarcarsamakulam, Annur, Sulur and Avinashi – the Agency has thus far constructed 180. And, it has dug 302 recharge wells as well for water percolation, she adds.
The next step was dredging tanks in the River Kowsika system. It involves deepening a few tanks so that the water spread is not wide and thin and concentrated to prevent easy evaporation.
The final step, Ms. Kavitha says, was planting saplings to develop tree groves. The Agency has completed work in a spot identified for tree grove, is working in the second place and has issued orders for nine more places.
The tree groves are to prevent soil erosion, increase chances of rain and improve biodiversity.
The result is that right from the River’s upstream in Periyanaickenpalayam to its confluence with River Noyyal there is an increase in ground water table by five to seven feet, says P.K. Selvaraj, president, Athikadavu Kowsika Nathi Membattu Sangam.
The areas around River Kowsika will stand to gain more once the State Government completes the Athikadavu-Avinashi groundwater recharge scheme and there is good rain, he adds. And, the benefit will be pronounced because Periyanaickenpalayam, Sarcarsamakulam, Annur and Avinashi come under the over-exploited and Sulur under semi-critical categories as far as groundwater use is concerned, Ms. Kavitha adds.
