Jalandhar's Rurka Kalan: Village with a difference!

At a time when the majority of villages and cities across the state have been trying their best to conserve water and preserve nature and their culture, Rurka Kalan village has set a perfect example of what a community can do when it comes together for a better tomorrow. Tribune correspondent Avneet Kaur and lensman Sarabjit Singh visit Rurka Kalan to get a peek into development projects underway at the model village.

Six ponds, 30 soak pits, rainwater harvesting system, solar panels, 12 heritage saths (a common area for residents), computer labs, centres for panchayat services, special children and physiotherapy, a football stadium, a wrestling hall, a badminton court, well-built roads, gymnasiums, ambulance, fire brigade service and green parks are some of the facilities that make Rurka Kalan stand out. The village, with a population of over 9,000, is less than 40 km from Jalandhar near Goraya on the Jalandhar-Ludhiana National Highway.

Rurka Kalan through its pond irrigation, filtration and recharge systems is saving at least 1 billion litres of water every year. Gurmangal Das, the man behind the transformation of the village, says water conservation projects, including the construction of ponds where the sewerage water gets collected, and is pumped out for irrigation with the help of a pump run by solar power, has received much acclaim from across the nation.

He said these projects were set up with the help of the Water and Soil Conservation Department, Jalandhar, and even NRIs of the village have contributed their bit.

“In the next two years, we aim to have at least six more ponds, 200 more soak pits and nearly 20 rainwater systems in the village so that nearly 3 billion litres of water could be saved a year,” adds Gurmangal, who is also the founder of Youth Football Club, Rurka Kalan.

He emphasises to improve the standard of living and to ensure that residents do not rush to cities, they have brought every facility on their doorstep. Moreover, to preserve its legacy and culture, the village has recently got a facelift done as a heritage village. The red bare-bricked structures called ‘heritage saths’ having big banyan trees in the middle of it, have been built across the village. Besides, to promote sanitation and hygiene among the vagabonds and nomads, who have been residing in shanties and jhuggies near the village, a sanitary complex having two sets of bathrooms, one for men and the other for women, has been built.