Silvester D'Souza

Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur (MS)

Kundapur, May 25: 'Namma Ooru Namma Kere', an ambitious project of Shree Kshethra Dharmasthala Gramabhivruddhi scheme is doing the noble work of giving new lease of life to water bodies that are filled with silt and long lost.

This year, the project has dredged Bagalakere pond that is situated under the limits of Kavradi gram panchayat. Over Rs 4 lac was sanctioned by Dr Veerendra Heggade under the scheme for the rejuvenation of the pond.

This pond which is spread over an area of 86 cents was the lifeline of water for people of Kavradi village. It also used to provide water for thousands of acres of land. It has a history of centuries. The pond dredged was removed 32 years ago by the panchayat. Though the gram panchayat made repeated appeals to the government for the rejuvenation of the pond, their appeal was not heard. Then the gram panchayat approached Dr Veerendra Heggade to get the same done through 'Namma Ooru Namma Kere' project of Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala Gramabhivruddhi scheme.

The work of giving new lease of life to Kavradi Bagalakere pond started on May 6. B Appanna Hegde founder of Janajagruthi Vedike inaugurated the work, while R Naveenchandra Shetty president of Janajagruthi Vedike, flagged off the project. The pond which was completely filled with silt and was almost looking like a barren land has been converted into a water body again and it has got 10 feet deep area now. Proper elevation of all the four sides of the pond is done to prevent water from gushing inside during the rainy season. More than 1,050 truckloads of silt has already been removed from the pond.

Just after removing three truckloads of mud from the pond, the spring could be seen. People of nearby areas thronged to see the rejuvenation work of the pond. This pond has got excellent spring and the deepening work of pond is carried out only after pumping out the water that is already filled overnight in the pond.

Dinakar Acharya, member of Pond Development Committee says that by looking at the amount of water present in the pond during this peak summer, there is no doubt that enough water will be available in the coming year.

At present, the dredging of the pond has been completed. It will be handed over to the local gram panchayat soon. A safety fence needs to be installed around the pond in future and also planting of flowers and building of a canal to pump water needs to be done.

Ganesh B district director of Dharmasthala Gramabhivruddhi scheme, Muralidhar K Shetty taluk planning officer, Chethan taluk agricultural officer, R Naveenchandra Shetty president of taluk Janajagruthi forum, Gauri Sriyan president, gram panchayat, Ganesh Mogaveera president pond development committee, Dinakar Acharya vice-president of the committee and Udaya Sherigar treasurer of the committee have taken a special interest in reviving the forgotten pond.

R Naveenchandra Shetty president of Janajagruthi Vedike says, "Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala Gramabhivruddhi scheme is doing the work which is supposed to be done by the state government. By rejuvenating ancient ponds like Bagalakere, the groundwater level of the village also increases, which is beneficial for agriculture. It also prevents the erosion of soil. Birds and animals will get natural water to drink. There are ponds like this in every village. The work of rejuvenating them has to be undertaken.”

"This pond is developed at an estimated cost of Rs 4 lac. More than 300 acres of land and 60 houses will reap the benefit of the pond. A good response is being seen in the people of nearby areas also," said Muralidhar K Shetty, taluk planning officer of the scheme.

Chethan Kumar agricultural officer said, "The dredging of Bagalakere pond is done during the lockdown. A huge amount of silt is removed. At certain times, we faced lots of challenges. We were concerned about disposing of more than 1,500 truckloads of mud. But due to suitable guidance by the Pond Development Committee, we found a way to send the silt removed for proper usage."