While Latur has received a lot of negative publicity in recent times because of the water crisis in the district, there are a few inspiring stories that deserve attention.
While Latur has received a lot of negative publicity in recent times because of the water crisis in the district, there are a few inspiring stories that deserve attention.
In one of such case, locals in Latur came together to desilt 18-kilometre stretch of the Manjara river. The irrigation department had estimated the cost of the said project to be Rs 87 crore. The locals, however, managed to complete the work within Rs 8 crore without involving any contractor in the scheme. Also, in Harangul Budruk village, locals collected Rs 1.25 crore for deepeningand widening of the local water streams. They are confident that once the work is completed, a year's rain would provide them sufficient water for the next five years. Interestingly, both these projects have seen no delays and therefore there have been no escalation in their costs.
After the completion of the project, it is expected that 1,850 MLD water will be shared in two barrages on the river in Latur. This is more than the annual requirement of the area.
The project to desilt Manjara river, which is the source of water for Latur, was envisaged by a group of influential people in the district. The proposal was initially given to the state government and the irrigation department had pegged the estimated expenditure to be at Rs 87.5 crore. Thereafter the people decided to ignore the government and take the project into their own hands Quite miraculously, the project cost came down to Rs 8 crore which is less that 10 per cent of what was estimated by the state government.
“So far we have collected Rs 5 crore out of which Rs 1 crore was donated by the Art Of Living. People from different walks of life including farmers, businessmen, traders and even a tea vendor, have contributed to this cause. We are confident that the required amount will be easily collected and we will finish the work by May 31,” said Mahadev Gomare, who is one of the persons monitoring the work.
When asked how the cost of the project had fallen so drastically, Mr Gomare said, “We are not paying any salaries, there is no profit involved. Even the machine owners charge us Rs 1,450 per hour while the market rate is Rs 2,200. Machines are operated by amateurs.
Silt from the river basin is given to farmers, who arrange their own transportation free of cost. All these factors have reduced the cost.”
A similar project on a smaller scale is happening at Harangul Budruk — a village only five kilometres from Latur city with a population of 10,000. The villagers have undertaken the work to desilt 18-19-kilometre-long canals that were encroached and reclaimed by local farmers. Here, residents first collected Rs 61 lakh from their internal contributions before accepting funds from the state government.
Speaking about the initiative, Shyam Barure, president of Jalayukta Shivar work of Harangul Badruk, said, “After seeing our work, we were allotted Rs 50 lakh from the chief minister’s fund. The local MP and MLAs have also given us Rs 27 lakh from their funds. The estimated cost of the entire project is Rs 1.25 crore. So now, availability of funds is not an issue. These canals will not only benefit our village, but all people within a radius of three kilometres from our village.”
