04-20-2006, 11:09 AM
<!--emo&:felx--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/flex.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='flex.gif' /><!--endemo--> Narmada dam brings new hope for Gujarat villages
- Rohit Bhan
Thursday, April 20, 2006 (Jawaraj):
Even as the debate over the Sardar Sarovar dam continues, thousands of farmers in Gujarat are already benefiting from the project with increased irrigation prospects.
These include farmers in the Jawaraj village in Dhanduka tehsil, where water was made available from the dam during the sowing season.
Farms in the village have now yielded a rich wheat crop for the first time in many years.
"Thanks to the irrigation water from the Narmada canal the produce from the field has increased 50-60 per cent this year," said Bhupet Patel, a local farmer.
Over 50 villages in Dhanduka, and many others in the other tehsils, have benefited from the Narmada waters in the last few years.
"We used to face enormous difficulties due to the lack of irrigation waters. Earlier we depended solely on the monsoons, but the Narmada water has eased our problems," said Chandubhai Dabhi, Sarpanch, Jawaraj village.
Drinking water
The dam has also provided clean drinking water in villages like Pipli, where saline groundwater had earlier caused major health problems.
The water supply board at Pipli now receives water from the dam at an off-take plant, where it is treated and supplied to the water-starved villages of Saurashtra.
"We used to put alum and use other traditional methods to clean the water, but the salinity was still a source of disease. Some families even shifted out because of these problems," said Dharmendrasinh Chudasama, Sarpanch, Pipli village.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already said that work on the project will go ahead, while also assuring proper rehabilitation of those who are displaced by the dam.
There can be no denying that the project is generating benefits for a large section of people, and it can now be hoped that the government will find a way to protect the interests of the maximum numbers in going ahead with it.
- Rohit Bhan
Thursday, April 20, 2006 (Jawaraj):
Even as the debate over the Sardar Sarovar dam continues, thousands of farmers in Gujarat are already benefiting from the project with increased irrigation prospects.
These include farmers in the Jawaraj village in Dhanduka tehsil, where water was made available from the dam during the sowing season.
Farms in the village have now yielded a rich wheat crop for the first time in many years.
"Thanks to the irrigation water from the Narmada canal the produce from the field has increased 50-60 per cent this year," said Bhupet Patel, a local farmer.
Over 50 villages in Dhanduka, and many others in the other tehsils, have benefited from the Narmada waters in the last few years.
"We used to face enormous difficulties due to the lack of irrigation waters. Earlier we depended solely on the monsoons, but the Narmada water has eased our problems," said Chandubhai Dabhi, Sarpanch, Jawaraj village.
Drinking water
The dam has also provided clean drinking water in villages like Pipli, where saline groundwater had earlier caused major health problems.
The water supply board at Pipli now receives water from the dam at an off-take plant, where it is treated and supplied to the water-starved villages of Saurashtra.
"We used to put alum and use other traditional methods to clean the water, but the salinity was still a source of disease. Some families even shifted out because of these problems," said Dharmendrasinh Chudasama, Sarpanch, Pipli village.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already said that work on the project will go ahead, while also assuring proper rehabilitation of those who are displaced by the dam.
There can be no denying that the project is generating benefits for a large section of people, and it can now be hoped that the government will find a way to protect the interests of the maximum numbers in going ahead with it.