Chhattisgarh villagers save 31 crore litres of water through 15-day conservation campaign: Here’s how they did it

Problems in Mahasamund

Mahasamund had been encountering problems due to falling groundwater levels, mainly because of its agricultural nature. With rice cultivation being the major activity carried outin the district, the need for water has become much higher in recent times.In order to deal with the problem, the district administration launched the “My Village, My Water 2.0” drive, in which people from 551 gram panchayats and above 1,140 villages are involved to conserve water.During the campaign, the villagers used their manpower to construct above 3.41 lakh structures like soak pits, ponds, trenches, check dams, and rainwater harvesting pits. All these structures aim to reduce water flow, store rainwater, and recharge groundwater.It has become evident from the effects of the campaign after the first monsoon rains that considerable amounts of rainwater that would otherwise run into drains and rivers have been stored.The campaign also included activities on a personal level. The villagers in Arand Gram Panchayat took a decision in a Gram Sabha to make soak pits around their homes. According to the report, resident Shankar Lal Yadav reported that almost all families in the village have made a soak pit and thus help rainwater to percolate into the soil and recharge the groundwater. According to Mahasamund Collector Vinay Kumar Langeh, it was due to the participation of the people that the campaign had become successful and coordination with various departments such as Agriculture, Forest, District Panchayat and Janpad Panchayat.