Watershed project boon for Kunihar

Solan, October 11

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The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)-funded watershed project executed in Daseran panchayat of Kunihar block has proved to be a boon to the agrarian community.

Launched in 2010, the project was completed in 2017. An impact evaluation study was conducted by NABARD officials after its completion to gauge its success. Discernible changes were found in the basic impact indicators like reclamation of waste-land, change in irrigated areas, change in groundwater profile, change in cropping pattern, etc, said Ajit Singh, public relations officer, NABARD.

The project was spread across 944 hectares and covered 739 households. “The impact study assessed that the major parameters, like water storage capacity, had increased by 22 lakh litre. Apart from this, various drainage line interventions resulted in an increase in the discharge of springs from 5 per cent to 21 per cent in four years. The quantum of wasteland has also declined and as against the earlier 5.921 sq km, it has decreased to 4 sq km which was a quantum decline of 31.28 per cent,” said Singh.

Due to the increased water availability in the area, farmers had now switched to cash crops and animal husbandry, which had led to an increase in their income. As many as 3,759 farmers reaped benefits of which 93.3 per cent adopted animal husbandry, with 83.33 per cent registering an increased income. — TNS