Rajasthan’s Ramsar Village becomes self-reliant: Converts 52-hectare Barren land into Lake

• The 52 hectares of barren land has now been converted into a lake for water conservation purposes
• The water body is now replenishing the wells of the village and also of the areas located nearby
• First showers the lake received a good amount of water, which will now be used to recharge the wells that had dried up this summer

AJMER: After sweating hard for almost five months, the residents of Ramsar, a village in Ajmer, Rajasthan have been successful at converting a barren piece of land into a lake for water conservation purposes.

The 52 hectares of barren land near Bhilo ki Basti in Ramsar was previously used as a dumping ground to throw away garbage collected from the areas nearby.

Speaking to Times of India, Ram Singh Rawat of the village, revealed, "There was a water outlet on this land which worked as a channel to Ramsar lake but over a period of time this channel went dry and the land was left barren."

Follow NewsGram on Facebook: NewsGram.com

However, now filled with water, the water body is replenishing the wells of the village and also of the areas located near the village.

Ramsar region received eight inches of water in pre-monsoon rains, which has filled this lake.

According to a TOI report, District collector Gaurav Goyal, who recently went to inspect the work also congratulated the villagers for contributing towards chief minister's Jal Sawavlamban Abhiyan.

It was the initiation by district administration that inspired the villagers to develop that piece of land into a lake. Also, because that was a low area and so it was an ideal spot to collect rainwater from the nearby areas.

Exhilarated Goyal said TOI, "This barren land was not in use. We took this land to develop a lake and sanctioned Rs 8 lakh for it. Now you can see the results."

He further explained that the depth of the lake is five feet and has a capacity of 4.08 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) for now.

Follow NewsGram on Twitter: @newsgram1

He added that during the first showers the lake received a good amount of water, which will now be used to recharge the wells that had dried up this summer.

It is believed that the lake will make the local farmers self-reliant and will also fulfil the drinking water needs.

Kailash Kumawat, a farmer, explained, "Initially we thought that the administration wanted us to work under MGNREGA and wanted to pay us. We have nothing to do in summer months and so came out to dig the land. But to our pleasant surprise now we have water in our well."

Brimming with optimism villagers are already sowing seeds and are certain that they will get water for irrigation on time.

-This article is modified by Bulbul Sharma, a staff-writer at NewsGram.

ALSO READ:

• Water conservation: Lessons India can learn from California and St Kitts
• Worlds Day for Water: 5 water conservation ways that are ideal for Indian conditions
• '40 percent people in India may not have water to drink by 2030′ (March 22 is World Water Day)