New tech in agro: low cost, max output

Vijaysinh Parmar/ TNN:AHMEDABAD: First, they reinvented the bullet to create a popular contraption called chhakda. Now, we have a farmer from Saurashtra, who improvised this cruiser bike to plough, sow and weed fields! Called ‘Bullet Santi’ (bullet plough), for farmers this is like the Nano car. It costs less than a mini tractor. The maintenance cost is lower than keeping a pair of bullocks.
Mansukhbhai Jagani of Mota Devaliya village had a close look at the Enfield Bullet, a petrol driven motorbike, in Amreli in 1994.
He envisioned it as a machine that could help farmers with their chores. He first converted it into a diesel driven 5.5 horsepower engine bike.
Later, he attached a plough behind that could also sow and weed fields. The attachment also turns into a trailer to carry goods. Over 500 farmers in Saurashtra alone use the machine, according to estimates.
"Bullet Santi is popular. Small and marginal farmers cannot afford bullocks or mini tractors. On half a litre of diesel, this machine cultivates one bigha of land," says Jagani. He says that many blacksmiths in Saurashtra copied this model.
They fabricated it in their shops out of second-hand Bullets to meet the demand. A second hand Bullet costs only Rs 25,000. Converted into a plough, it costs Rs 50,000, which is far less than the cost of a mini tractor which is Rs 1.80 lakh.
Recently, the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI), Durgapur adopted it as a project for design validation and subsequent value addition under the CSIR-NIF Innovation Fellowship Scheme. The CMERI project team included Palash Maji, scientist, principal project leader and Subrata Kumar Mondal, scientist, project leader. Co-ordinator of this project S Sen Sharma told TOI from Durgapur.
"In the original design by Jagani, the rear wheel, sprocket, chain, suspension system, brake system and related links and the rear footrest had to be removed. All these operations required at least two hours for fitting or removal of the attachment, by an automobile mechanic.
We simply attached the plough to the prime mover with minimum difficulty without removing these systems, which takes only about 20 minutes for an average unskilled farmer."This also reduced the length of the vehicle which enables the plough to be used on smaller plots of land.
The new prototype will be put up for trial soon. National innovation foundation’s executive vice chairperson and professor of Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) Anil Gupta says, "This the best example of how grassroots innovation can reach all who need it with help of scientists."

Bottle for buckets: No liquor, no water

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Kharaghoda (Surendranagar): The only pools of water you see in the Little Rann of Kutch are mirages. They melt away into flying desert sand when you approach them. The salt pan workers or the ‘agariyas’ who inhabit this unforgiving landscape know there is only one way for them to quench their thirst — liquor. Not down their own throats; the booze is for drivers of the government water tankers. No liquor, no tankers. “Building rapport with drivers of government tankers is the only way we get water for free,” says Valiben Thakore, whose family owns a salt pan near the Kharaghoda range. “And, the best way to befriend them is to give them liquor. But, even then we can’t rely on them as the frequency depends on the drivers’ whims and fancies. So, we have to pay Rs 2,000 to private water suppliers between the months of October and May when we work in the salt pans.” Such are the conditions that salt pan workers are forced to agree to private suppliers’ exploitative terms. The government has only three tankers to cover the 5,000 square kilometres of the Rann, scattered with more than 30,000 salt pan workers. Despite the liquor, the tankers don’t come for days together. In the end, it is brisk business for private suppliers who charge money according to the number of salt pans, not according to the number of families. “I had to shell out Rs 3,600 as I have two salt pans,” says salt pan worker Jeram Thakore. “Besides, the large tankers that the government uses can’t navigate the slush and soft soil in the Rann between the months of October and December — a time when we start moving into the Rann. Government tankers start only in January,” says another salt pan worker Karmsi Thakore. “Private suppliers use tractors that can easily navigate the landscape. Many a time, private suppliers don’t provide drinking water, but we have no alternative.” “Pure drinking water is not meant for marginalized people,’’ says another salt pan worker Labhubhai Thakore. “We are already debt-ridden. The price of water is only adding to the back-breaking burden.”

Widows turn sex workers here

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Kharaghoda (Surendranagar): At 70, Kamuben (name changed), widow of an agariya or salt pan worker, should have been living the quiet life of a grandmother. Instead, she is a prostitute, a profession she took to eight years ago after her son died of TB. Not eligible for government pension, this was all she could do to survive. The salt pans of Kharaghoda are pristine white, but the dark shadow of death is an unshakeable reality here. So harsh are the living conditions that on an average one man dies here every week. Some of the widows take to prostitution, their only weapon to fight hunger and death. So, will the killing fields of Kharaghoda come up for discussion when the national seminar on salt workers, involving government officials, experts and salt workers from across the country, starts in Ahmedabad on Friday? Here are some statistics they may want to consider. In 2002, Kharaghoda had 300 widows. In 2007, there were 495. Nearly 50 women in this village of 3,000 homes, most of them widows between 40 and 45 years, have taken to prostitution. Dr Rajesh Thakur of the local public health centre says life expectancy of a man in Kharaghoda is 45 years. “TB, coupled with the harsh conditions, is a major killer,” he says. Adds sarpanch Virsing Thakore: “The widows live in abject poverty but they have not been identified as below poverty line people.” The government gives pension to only those widows whose sons are below 21 years. That makes only 15 widows eligible in Kharaghoda! “I would get Rs 80 a day for just two months if I labour in the salt pans,” says mother of two grown-up chi dren, Kanchan (name changed), 38, who has taken to prostitution. “Selling myself is the only option I have to ensure my children don’t die of hunger.” “On the one hand, the government stops pension to those women whose children have grown up, and on the other, there are 60 widows in the village who have been abandoned by their children. We need a shelter for these women so that they can live respectable lives,” says Ambu Patel, a resident of the village.

A leak quenches thirst of 5,000 people here

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Surendranagar: Had the Gujarat State Water Supply and Sewerage Board (GSWSSB) repaired this leak, some 5,000 people in Surendranagar would have been going thirsty. Living on the outskirts of the town, it is a routine for women of this middle-class locality of Khann to spend hours standing by the leaking pipeline. And fights are common too. The pipeline supplies water from Dholi Dhaja dam to surrounding villages. If there was no leak, people here would have had to drink extremely brackish water from hand pumps. “Our battle to get water from the leakage starts at 5 am. The flow is just a trickle, testing everyone’s patience. And because fights are common, we prefer to use steel pots. They don’t break in a scuffle,” says one of the residents, Gauri Gardharia. The residents had collected money a decade ago to construct embankment around the leakage area so that we could collect water and reduce wastage. “We have to spare four hours daily just to fetch water,” says Kavita Pagi. “The amount of drinking water we collect depends on luck. I have to get up early so that I can fill my vessels before everyone else pounces on the leakage. The one who reaches there early gets the benefit. Moreover, it also depends on the amount of water in the pipeline,” she says. “Frankly, we trust the leakage more than politicians. So many of them promised us water and took our votes, but not a single politician has kept his word,” says Jamanaben Gardhariya. “Don’t poor people deserve clean drinking water?” Residents fear complaining about the lack of drinking water facilities. “We might not even have access to the leaking water if we complain. Officials blocked another water leakage a fortnight ago,” says Jasu Garudia. “The area does not get water because it is not in our jurisdiction, but we plan to give connections soon,” says Jaushubha Zala, president of Suendranagar nagarpalika.

Khanpur, a desert in an oasis

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Khanpur (Anand district): It is common to find villages in the barren regions of Surendranagar and Banaskantha where young men can’t find brides. No one wants to marry their daughters to these villagers where they would have to labour for hours to get drinking water. This phenomenon is unheard of in Anand, a lush green water-surplus region of rich farmers. And yet Vallabhbhai Patel of Khanpur, a village 40 km from Anand, can’t get his eldest son married. “He has been engaged twice, but the moment the bride’s family hears of our drinking water scarcity, they break off the engagement,” he says. “People can’t believe that Anand has a water scarce village.” In the last five years, not one of the 50-odd bachelors has married in this village of 3,000 people. Patel has to ride a bicycle for two km to fetch drinking water. Khanpur’s water crisis is difficult to swallow as it is regularly marooned by floods during monsoons. Surrounded by a ring of villages with prosperous farmers, it is a mini-desert in a large oasis. “We are finding it difficult to get our sons married as word of water scarcity spreads in other villages,” says Shantaben Patel, another villager. Because Khanpur is located on a higher plane — its topography is 22 feet higher than the rest of the villages in the region — villagers say it is difficult to pump water into their pipelines from the water supply scheme just two km away. The scheme supplies water to 44 villages in the area. To make matters worse,Khanpur’s ground water is brackish. “At least 60 per cent of our villagers suffer from kidney stones,”says Pramod Patel. Both he and his three brothers suffer from the ailment. “We have no option but to drink this water.” Says DG Bhandari, deputy executive engineer of the local group water supply scheme, “Although we don’t provide water to Khanpur, we are implementing a new scheme which should solve their problem.”

Modi’s promised bicycles yet to reach salt-pan workers

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Patdi (Surendranagar): Karsan Thakor, a salt-pan worker in Himmatpura village of Patdi taluka was happy that he would get a bicycle for Rs 800 under a scheme launched by Chief Minister Narendra Modi during ‘Agaria Kalyan Sammelan’ in April last year. He somehow managed to save Rs 800 and even paid the same to get a bicycle on subsidised rate. But, even after a year, he still burns his feet on this inhospitable terrain. Sources said there are many salt-pan workers in Surendranagar, who have already paid Rs 800 last year, but still there is no sign of the bicycles.“Whenever I go to ask about the status of my bicycle at government office, I am told it will take time,” Thakor said. If Thakor lost hope, Sonda Thakor of Enjar village in Halvad taluka finally decided to buy a bicycle on loan by paying a monthly installment of Rs 200. “Bicycle is a must for any salt-pan worker in Little Rann of Kutch. I bought the bicycle only six months back as I had some cash,” Sonda said. Condition of salt-pan workers is such that they cannot even afford a bicycle. Government officials had a tough time convincing even five workers to take the bicycles as a sample base of the scheme launched last year during the Modi function. Even government officials in Patdi are clueless about the scheme. They have stopped taking new forms also. According to an estimate, there are close to 40,000 saltpan workers in the district. Assistant labour officer (Patdi) BT Sanghvi said, “We were given the responsibility of filling the forms for bicycle scheme when CM had floated this scheme. We forwarded them to the higher ups and do not know anything apart from this.’’ Moreover, recently, ministers Saurabh Patel and Vajubhai Vala during a national seminar held at Gandhi Labour Institute had done a lot of talking on government’s inclination for betterment of salt-pan workers.

Water scarcity forces youth to leave villages for work

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Dahod: Even a casual observer can make out that there is something other than water missing in villages scattered across the hilly terrain of tribal-dominated Dahod district. They are youngsters! Forget teenagers, it is difficult to find men and women below the age of 30 years in most villages. The reason: Large scale migration of families to cities due to unavailability of water for irrigation. Water, however, is aplenty beneath the ground and digging just 15 feet can bring it to the surface. But, digging one well requires at least Rs one lakh, a staggering amount for villagers. So, sons and grandsons of Nathia Ninama, living in Valundi village, are all working at construction sites in Ahmedabad. Even Ninama did this in his youth, but now age has got better of his agility. His grandsons are even studying in Ahmedabad schools but during this vacation time, they also work. “At least they can meet their school expenses,” he says. The majority of Valundi’s villagers are in Ahmedabad, Surat and Baroda, working at construction sites. Tolsing Damor of Chaklia village in Jhalod taluka stopped going to cities for work after his brother died after falling from the tenth floor of Shilalekh building in Shahibaug in Ahmedabad. “My son, however, is working in Ahmedabad. There is no way out since our land is fertile but without water we can harvest only one crop in a year,” says Damor. Nearly 90 per cent of Chaklia’s 16,000 population is in cities. Cereals like tuver (lentil), udad as well as maize and vegetables grow in abundance in this region. “Despite plenty of ground water and fertile lands, we have to migrate with our family to cities,” says Magan Sangala of Kamavira village in Garbada taluka.

Row over dam’s fuse gates leads to dry conditions

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Machhannala Dam (Dahod): Two years ago, when Gujarat was battling floods across the state, residents of Raniyari village in Jhalod taluka of Dahod were fighting in their own battle. They cornered the surpervisor of M a ch h a n n a l a Dam — a medium irrigation dam in the region — and tied him to a tree. They released him only after fuse gates, built on top of the dam to increase its height, were broken down. They had taken this drastic step as they were afraid that the increased height of the dam would lead to submersion of more lands. Already, heavy rains had flooded their homes. Interestingly, the agitation had been led by Patel and Rajput farmers, despite their losing less land than the tribals had lost to submersion. The result is villages furthermost in the dam’s supply area don’t get water anymore. “We have had good rains and even have canals in our fields, but they bring no water. Only rain irrigates our fields,” says Hirka Katara of Mahudi village. Dam officials say that they brought down the fuse gates themselves as they feared for the life of the supervisor held captive. “We realized the seriousness of the issue only after the incident,” said an official. There are 90 gates on the dam, of which 60 are service gates and 30 are fuse gates. Six fuse gates have been pulled down. Sources added that if the government reinstalls the fuse gates, it will have to acquire another 142.14 hectares of land for submergence. “But this looks unlikely as the Patels and Rajputs are asking for land in return for land, while the government wants to give cash compensation,” said senior officials in the irrigation department. Executive engineer (in charge) RB Katara says, “We have written to the state government and are trying to resolve the issue.”

A dam nearby, yet no water for village

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Ditvas Navi Vasahat (Panchmahals): In mid-1970s, they made way so that Kadana dam could be built on river Mahi. But now, despite Kadana dam being only 20 km away, people of Ditvas Navi Vasahat — a village of those displaced due to this dam project — have to wake up at the break of dawn and walk 3 km to Sarsag village just to fetch water. Failing to do so, they have to go thirsty for the day in this sweltering heat. At the peak of summer, acute water shortage has made life miserable for these people. “For the last three years, we have been walking 3 km to fetch drinking water. We wake up at 4 am only for this,” says Kalubhai Vagadia, one of those displaced. Most hand pumps near Ditvas run dry as underground pipes are dysfunctional. Despite repeated complaints by villagers, the pipes have not been repaired. When contacted, government officials said they do not have new pipes to repair hand pumps. “They tell us they will repair the pipes when they get them,” says another resident, ML Vagadia, a retired policeman. Schoolchildren are the worst-affected due to the water crisis as they have to fetch water. Farmers in this area depend on rains as there is no irrigation facility here. The scarcity of water has forced people to migrate to cities in large numbers. “Most people in our village have migrated for survival. When drinking water itself is scarce, how can we get water for agriculture?” says Hira Malivad, another villager.

Gandhian institute shows the green way

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Ahmedabad: The city’s premier Gandhian institute has set an excellent example of how to make best out of waste, thus contributing to conservation of environment. Gujarat Vidyapith experimented with transforming waste on its campus to compost and using it as manure for campus’ green cover. The experiment has already borne fruit, just a year after it began. Based on self-help concept, every morning, Gujarat Vidyapith students start cleaning the campus. They go about collecting all waste and then store them in a corner of the sprawling campus. “Earlier, we had to spend around Rs 4,000 for waste disposal every month. It Also, when it was burnt, it added to the pollution. But now we have found a better use for it, which benefits us,” said Gujarat Vidyapith registrar, Rajendra Khimani. It is estimated that everyday waste weighing half a tonne is collected from the Vidyapith campus that is spread over 20 acres. The compost generated by the wastes has been utilised in campus plantations. “We collect the waste and mix some substances in it to prepare the right kind of organic fertilizer for plants. Our expenditure on chemical fertiliser has been done away with.” Vidyapith is one of the few institutions that has banned the use of plastic on campus. “Hence, there are less chances of coming across plastic waste while cleaning. The institution is also planing to give this compost waste to others who are interested in using organic manure,’’ said campus in-charge, Abhubhai Rabari. It comes as no surprise that this concept is based on Gandhi’s philosophy of self reliance and using environment as common human property. “Today, we have to purchase culture to transform the waste to compost but next year we will produce this culture in our microbiology college in Sadara. This success experiment will be replicated in all the educational institutions run by Gujarat Vidyapith,” adds Khimani.

Potato glut gives food for thought

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Modasa (Sabarkantha): Trust everyone in Gujarat to have an entrepreneurial spirit. It’s the only spirit that runs in the blood of people in this dry state. About 50 farmers from different districts in the state have pooled in Rs 1 lakh each to launch their own company to export commodities like potatoes, groundnut, cotton, mangoes etc. KP Agri International Pvt Ltd aims to export agri-commodities to foreign countries and is getting a lot of support from the Gujarati diaspora settled abroad in the Gulf and Africa. The group of farmers has already visited Dubai last month to tie up deals. “We have lined up agencies which will accept our products and we are now in talks with ports in Mundra, Kandla, Pipavav and others to select an export hub,” says company’s director, Maganbhai Patel of Modasa, who expects a massive Rs 50-crore turnover in the first year itself. If everything goes well, the first containers of potatoes will be heading for Dubai in the next 20 days. In fact, the glut caused by a bumper potato crop in north Gujarat, which forced many farmers to just destroy the produce, germinated the idea of farmers setting up their own export house. “Exports will always fetch better prices. We still have hundreds of tonnes of potatoes lying in cold storages,” says another share-holder, BK Patel, a farmer in Sabarkantha. All 50 members have been divided into sub-committees which will handle different crops. “We have already distributed seeds of cotton and groundnut to more than 700 farmers and assured them that we will purchase their crops,” says chairman of the company Ratibhai Patel.If this experiment succeeds, then it will be replicated by farmers across Gujarat.

Patel village goes for Dalit sarpanch again

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Manekpar (Jamnagar district): A Dalit couple — Devji Chavda and his wife Nanuben — resident of a small village Manekpar in Dhrol taluka in Jamnagar has been crafting a unique story of village development. And, they were rewarded for their efforts by Manekpar villagers when they decided in 2006 that rather than holding the next gram panchayat elections, they will unanimously co-opt Devji Chavda as village sarpanch, even if it was a general seat then. Hardly 10 per cent of the population of this Patel-dominated village are Dalits. Nanuben Chavda was the village sarpanch from 2001-2005 from a reserved seat. She, along with her husband Devji, did a commendable job during this period. Their efforts gave the entire village a facelift. Better availability of water and improving finances swung the people’s opinion in the couple’s favour. “When we selected Devji as our sarpanch our relatives asked us: ‘Why did you select a Dalit as sarpanch?’ We have full faith in him, we told them. He has done a firstclass job, even exceeding our expectations. And, if a person is doing such good work for the development of village we should not hold any prejudice against him,” says Haribhai Patel, a villager. Devji Chavda, a class 12 pass, is keen to improve the conditions in his village. There are currently 26 check dams around the village. “Earlier, Manekpar was one of the many village that battled water scarcity round the year. We had to rely on government tankers. But after we implemented a watershed project, water is easily available and the villagers’ income increased by more than 100 times,” says the proud sarpanch Devji. Devji also lays stress on the issue cleanliness in village. “Our village has 100 per cent sanitation. We won the ‘Nirmal Gram’ award in 2007.” Over the years, the semi–arid Manekpar has become a lush green land as the Dalit couple work hard to maintain around 2,000 trees planted in the village. Villagers also enjoy modern amenities, every single corner of the village has been lit up by street lights. “Mostly, a sarpanch relies on the talati for village development programmes. But, I get personally involved in all the developmental projects, as a sarpanch’s personal attention make a lots of difference,” says Devji. Villagers of Manekpar, hailing from different communities, have also witnessed a social transformation. “I remember, when I used to go to a shop as a child, the shopkeeper did not been take the money from me directly as I am a Dalit. But today, the perception of the people has changed, says Devji. Now, social equality is part our village development story. During social events everyone is invited, irrespective of caste and community’’ says Devji. When Devji head for 32 people who had to migrate for work to cities or near-by village, he made plans to get them employment in the village itself.

Snake bites? Dial D for Devani

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Madhavpur (Porbander): As soon as monsoon arrives, Arun Devani’s antennas are up. The 42-year-old has become like an emergency service for villagers who have the misfortune of being bitten by snakes. In fact, he even keeps his hair and beard long so that he can be easily identified. And, the bus stand has become the permanent address of this man who vowed three years ago that no one living within 50 km of him would die of snake bite. Madhavpur town, 60 km from Porbander, and Ghed are low-lying areas which are flooded for four months a year with many villages turning into islands. This is the time snakes abound. “Every day we attend to at least 15 calls on either snake bite or snake rescue from different villages,” says Devani. Since 1994, he has made it his life’s mission not only to save lives of bite victims, but also to rescue snakes. Snake bite cases are rushed to the community health centre (CHC) in Mangrol. According to CHC officials, every year they need to use more than 1,500 vials of anti-snake venom. This reveals the severity of problem in the area. “If not for Devani, many people would lose their lives to snake bites,” says Dr LS Makwana of Mangrol CHC. “It all started because I came to know that many snakes are killed by people who have lost loved ones to snake bites. I could see that largescale killing of snakes would create ecological imbalance. That’s why I took up this work,” he narrates. Since the last three years he and his team have been able to save every victim. Last year they attended to 55 cases of people bitten by poisonous snakes and all of them survived. “Last year my daughter Manisha was bitten by a cobra. We lost all hope that she would survive. It was Arunbhai who saved her,” relates Ranabhai Mer of Chingariya village in Porbander district. The main reason for his success is timing. “Timing is very crucial in snake bite cases. A five-minute delay can lead to death,” he says. Such is his dedication that he stays with patients in hospital till they recover. He believes that in most cases relatives of the patient lose hope after snake bite which affects recovery.

Private jail for fishermen’s human catch

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Veraval (Junagadh): If only the shame of being nabbed could deter a criminal! Amazingly, that’s the logic that drove the close-knit Kharva community of fishermen living along Gujarat’s coastline, to have its own jail. The community has jails in 12 places, including Porbander, Veraval, Mangrol, Jafrabad and Mandvi. They are deliberately located in public places so that the culprit can be easily spotted by community members. Unable to face this humiliation, after a brief stint in jail, the criminal not only confesses to the crime, but also pledges not to repeat it. A kotval, appointed by the community, manages the jail round-theclock and even sports a khakhi uniform. The Veraval Samasta Kharva Gnyati manages a jail here which has three rooms. Apart from jails, community courts are part of this traditional system of law and order. No legal fees need to be paid and a verdict is given by the leader of the community, called ‘Patel’, usually within 10 days. In fact, so efficient is the system of justice, that 98 per cent of disputes are settled in these courts. “We have our own law and order system and every member of our community has to follow it. If there is a family dispute or a row among members of the community, it’s resolved in our own court. No one approaches regular courts,” explains Kishan Varidum, a member of the community. Every day, as many as 50 cases are disposed of in a community court which convenes at 10 am. Both parties are given a chance to place their points of view before the court and the Patel, as the judge, gives the verdict and fixes the fine according to the gravity of the crime. No member can over-rule his verdict. The ‘Patel’ also has the final say in any development-related decision. Apart from robberies, murders, property disputes and boat accidents, domestic violence also comes up for settlement. After two or three days, the culprit is made to appear before the community court. Once he confesses, he is fined and let off. Many times, the punishment is a spell of social service. One interesting rule — the court never grants divorce!

No water in most Mangrol villages

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Ahmedabad\Mangrol: Fortysix per cent villages of coastal Mangrol in Junagadh district do not have sufficient drinking water. As many as 61 villages are most vulnerable. Pravah, a network working on drinking water had initiated the drinking water and sanitation survey in the state in 2007 as part of a study. The study also shows that 65 per cent villages in Mangrol not having primary health centres (PHC) even when most villagers suffering from water-related diseases. Study shows that most of Mangrol villages depend on underground water sources for drinking water. The most commonly available resources are ponds and handpumps. However, of the 81 ponds in this area, 40 per cent have become saline. Even 35 per cent of the 70 handpumps give saline water. Students of BRS Shardagram College who conducted much of the field work found that their own college was affected by salinity ingress. “As part of the study we have to teach cultivation of different crops. But our professors find it difficult as salinity has affected crop patterns.’’ said Dilip Marthak, principal of the college. “The college also lost it grapes and mango orchards because of salinity. Only salinity-resistant crops can survive now,” added professor Mahesh Gajera of the college. Gajera said that over the year ground water has been going down in these villages. This study also shows that none of the resources are being used above 50 feet. Water is available above 50 feet but not qualitative. Ami Joshi, co-ordinator of Pravah says that the objective of the study was to find out the information on water sources and sanitation amenities in villages of Mangrol taluka.

They fought limestone mafia to save forest

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Madhavpur (Porbander): They are neither conservationists nor do they know what green activism is. But they took the dangerous limestone mafia in Porbander head on to ensure that Madhavpur regains its lush green forest. They are a group of servicemen, doctors, engineers and other professionally-employed persons staying at Osho Ashram in Madhavpur who took upon themselves to conserve the fast diminishing forest, especially the rayan (khirnee, manilkara hexandra) trees that had borne the brunt of limestone mining as well severe salinity ingress. Today as one drives on the coastal highway from Porbander to Mangrol, the very sight of this forest ‘Madhuvan’ spread over 35 acres is refreshing to the eyes. “It was a matter of life and death for all of us to save the forest from the mafia. We were able to save some part of the forest that has centuries-old rayan trees,” says Govind Vekaria, an employee of State Bank of Saurashtra, living at the ashram. Nearly half of this 35-acre land belongs to the state forest department and the remaining has been purchased by some of the nature lovers in Porbander and Mangrol. “The purchased land has been donated to the ashram to maintain and conserve it as a forest by planting different species,” says Bharat Shah, who also lives at the Osho Ashram. Around six years ago, the ashram residents notice that the rayan trees were fast diminishing. So they roped in Rasik Bhatt, a botanist and retired scientist from Junagadh Agriculture University, to study its reasons. “Salinity was one of the main reason for the death of rayan trees. Moreover, there was a dense growth of gando baval (prosopis juliflora) in the area that used to consume away the nutrition from these trees,” said Bhatt. Rayan is very slow-growing tree that can survive in very harsh conditions. Of the 300 rayan trees, Madhuvan has many that are over 150 years old. “So, we recommended that the ashram give nurture these with pure water to fight salinity and give them an organic mulching,” he added. Today, gando baval has been totally eliminated and all rayan trees have been protected with a concrete wall so that water seeps in properly to its roots. People of the region are savouring the fruits of these efforts. For the first time, poor children sold Rs 50,000 worth rayan fruits collected from this forest.

Mehsana doc practises what he preaches

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Ahmedabad: When a member of the medical profession takes the initiative to promote blood donation, it’s likely to be more effective. And, Mehsana-based orthopaedic surgeon Dr GK Patel is doing this by example. The 60-year-old will be giving blood for the 150th time on July 27. To celebrate this momentous occasion, residents of small villages and towns of the district have been organizing drives for the past few weeks. On Sunday, a number of donors gathered at Bhagyoday General Hospital in Kadi. Within a few hours, 350 bottles were collected. A similar drive in Vijapur yielded 450 bottles. Patel plans to collect 4,000 bottles from the district by D-day. Centurion blood donors from Mehsana will also be felicitated on that day. “I’m happy people from villages and small towns are getting involved in this selfless act,” says Patel. The veteran started donating in 1968 when he was still doing MBBS. “My grandfather, who was active in social service, has been my inspiration. I found blood donation the need of the hour. When I started donating, there were very few people involved in this initiative,’ he narrates. There have been times when his patients have needed blood urgently, but no one has come forward to donate. He, himself, has donated blood several times to save lives of patients. This has inspired many, including relatives of patients, to turn donors. “Dr Patel has done a commendable job in creating awareness on blood donation in the district. We have organized this camp as a tribute,” says one of the trustees of Bhagyoday General Hospital Lalji Patel. Patel is a member of Red Cross Society, Ahmedabad’s Centurion Blood Donors’ Club. “There are very few people who have donated blood 150 times. Time, age and health become constraints. But, Dr Patel has been a consistent donor,’’ says honorary secretary of the society Mahesh Trivedi.

21-Mt-Wide Breach Swamps 8 Mehsana Villages With Waist-Deep Water

Vijaysinh Parmar & Paul John TNN
Sujatpura (Mehsana): It was a rude shock to 1,500 villagers of Sujatpura in Kadi taluka on Wednesday morning when farmers who were busy with their chores realized that the Narmada-Kutch main canal running alongside this village had breached. The 21-metre breach is suspected to have been caused by an engineering fault and had affected at least eight villages. The villages remained submerged in waist-deep water from 7.30 am even as the monsoon is yet to hit these parts. At least 10 hutments collapsed, while the boundary wall of the local primary school broke because of the flooding. Farmers lost precious BT Cotton, bajra and jowar crops. Many farmers fear that they would not be able to sow as most of the farms lay waterlogged and monsoons would arrive in a few days’ time. District officials were busy trying to ensure that there is no disease outbreak. The entire village was evacuated by 10 am. By afternoon, area of nearly six kilometers around the breach was affected, submerging villages like Nani Kadi, Narsinhpura, Kaswa, Shedadi — all along the canal. “Generally, we sow after the first shower but this incident has worried us all as monsoons would arrive in three days and the fields will still be waterlogged,” says Rajesh Patel, a farmer. Villagers add that about 2,000 acres of farmland belonging to Sujatpura, Balasar and Ranchhodpura lies submerged for the moment. Sujatpura has a thriving dairy business with a buffalo population of more than 2,000. “We don’t know what we will feed our cattle as most of the fodder was washed away and district officials haven’t yet assured us aid for our cattle,” adds Most of the local village granaries have suffered as stocks have been washed away during the incident. “I lost 1,600 kg of wheat stored in my house. I don’t know how I’m going to pass this season without any earnings.” Narmada canal under scanner after breach: Panicking after the 21-metre-wide breach in the Narmada main canal near Kadi on Wednesday, Gujarat government has brought the entire 458 km-long canal, from Kevadia to Rajasthan, under the scanner. Government spokesperson, Jay Narayan Vyas said, “The state government has decided to carry out a technical survey of the entire canal by a high-level technical experts committee in order to ensure that such a breach does not take place in future.” The experts committee will look into the entire stretch after giving a report on how the breach took place near Kadi, while fixing responsibility. TNN CANAL CALAMITY Manmade Disaster Hit Kadi Village Following SSNNL Negligence Sujatpura (Mehsana): It’s no secret in Sujatpura village that Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) engineers and officials had come to inspect the leakage of the canal on Tuesday evening. Villagers had pressed the alarm bells and had requested the officers for an early redressal. But the engineers only returned on Wednesday morning when the canal lay split open with breach of 21 metre and a submerged Sujatpura. Villagers thank their stars as the breach did not happen in the night when the village was asleep.This could have claimed many lives. Rajesh Patel, a villager in Sujatpura, says, “A large group of villagers, especially those whose fields are along the canal had shown the SSNNL officers the minor leak as their fields were getting affected.But they assured us that it was a minor leak and would be plugged soon. But the officials never returned on Tuesday night.” Engineers present at the site claim that it will take at least one-and-a-half days to plug the breach with eight bulldozers being commissioned already to the site to work overtime to temporarily fill the breach. SSNNL engineers at the site suspect that the crevice between concrete slabs used for the canal lining cracked, exposed the earthen lining underneath. “The canal was channelling at 13 feet water for the last two days. It means that it was at least 75 per cent full. We suspect that the sheer force of the water flow ate away the mud underneath the concrete slabs and finally the concrete slabs without any support blew open in the morning,” says an SSNNL engineer at the site. SSNNL officials have already sent concrete and soil samples for tests to see the quality of material used for the construction of the canal lining. Ahmedabad fire brigade rushed with boats to the site for rescue operations. The head regulator of the canal was opened to reduce the water to at least three feet. “We had maintained a minimum of 8 to 10 feet water for the last 10 days as this canal carries water to Kutch. For the last two days the level was anywhere between 12 to 13 feet,” says an SSNNL engineer. Excess water had been diverted to the open fields in Balasar and surrounding villages. While any further flow was stalled at Karan Nagar where the canal is diverted to Kutch and Saurashtra canals.