Original English text
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Powargudas Of Gujerac (Sail bs Baeurtul)
On « macro level, irrigation efficiency has been _ - ; = Water Temples (Jal Mandir)
improved and transmission and evaporation , Saar | During my various interactions with small and © and conservation of water through these
losses reduced. Around 357,000 ha of land has Spee ire el marginal farmers in the State, 1 have been ponds. I have also been telling fhrmera that
been covered under Participatory Irrigation ew ae. er is os. | using socio-religious analogies for inculcating however poor household theirs may be, they
Management leading to yield increase and ia ayia upon them the culture of water conservation. must be keeping an earthen pot full of water
water, fertiliser, labour and energy savings. It 5 ert p) Ad Sette Social ethos in rural areas ia more prone to for drinking purpose. Similarly village and
has been estimated that around 74.1 million ae mit aS, ripo. "4 eae ' be pro-actively driven for a particular cause farm ponds are like water pots for mother
kWh energy has been saved in just one year due Rag. } = aes te: oF ee by invoking religious beliefs and, therefore, I earth for quenching her thirst. And farmers
to the ion of drip irrigation by Gujarat ete. if Tee have been encouraging these farmers to make are duty bound to create them as an
adoption of drip irrigation paynate at ie RT, ane ‘Water Temples' (Jal Mandir) by digging farm obligation towards mother earth, This has
Green Revolution Company — 2 body specially ES (IIs seecas ate eee ponds and village ponds. This religious further enhanced, through belief system,
created for the purpose. Myriads of micro seine er : Or simile of equating water ponda with temples creation of micro water harvesting structurea
water harvesting structures dotting the » ’ hes lent religious reverence for preservation in different parts of Gujarat.
landscape of Gujarat have led to the reduction in Cf
soil moisture evaporation in the surrounding ae :
agricultural fields and have facilitated the E / ; =e —_ —
creation of orchards in places which barely used ee a ae
to produce single rain fed crops. Employment ‘ 3 es =—— a PO X
opportunities have been created for local ag es if 3 ee Se, a J
residents, agricultural production has been } Si i. oe ee eS
enhanced, leading to rise in household incomes. Ziegegacoeene ieee (SS eee eed ‘ g >‘ ah ei OT = oN
The living standards and the average 5S Se Pee” eo Be tae od ; i i my yo ad et, age " toe
productivity of milch cattle has also gone up © DIE Oe 9 ig a a aE / i" ‘i aise. a ee i yp
due to year-around availability of fodder. When 2 vi 28 tra "i \ yi Oa Si np ae es ae
I look back, I feel happy that we have created Pe ares x a ey. my {3 “. CY ae Kae
: . Ss Se SS ee Cee 1 Ee ae \ tee ate
hundreds of thousands of Powergudas in Public Participation— ‘e oe Se ae ey - AWK = wil
Gujarat. If one Powerguda could save 147 tCO, z : - ad ea See VF aum 5 OR eet
emission, the cumulative schicvement ofthese 1) Micro VWater Zz —— a ae Fie Sie Same
checkdams, farm and village tanks and ponds, = Se mt 3 & es “imi
etc., would definitely be millions of CO, Harvesting . ——S—= a ae
Fon emission saving. North Gujarst ;
4, 4 = ——= ea =
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