The project officially commenced in 2017 and has since become a cornerstone of sustainable development in Kattakada.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amid Kerala’s escalating climate challenges and dwindling groundwater reserves, micro-level initiative ‘Jalasamrudhi’ has emerged as a beacon of success in the Kattakada assembly constituency. Implemented over the past seven years, this community-based conservation programme has not only halted the acute water scarcity the people of the locality have been facing for the past two decades but also significantly replenished groundwater levels.
Initiated by MLA I. B. Satheesh after his election to the assembly in 2016, Jalasamrudhi represents a unique blend of local planning and governmental cooperation, catalysing a transformative movement. The project officially commenced in 2017 and has since become a cornerstone of sustainable development in the region.
According to a comprehensive study by Gautam Ganapathy and Salil C. S. titled ‘Bureaucracy, Sustainable Development and Decentralisation: Reflections on Jalasamrudhi, a Community-based Water Conservation Programme in Kerala’, groundwater availability in Kattakada has surged from 1,355 million cubic metres (MCM) to 4,908.68 MCM between 2017 and 2019. “As many as 314 ponds and more than 43,000 wells in the area were cleaned as part of the initiative.
In addition, more than 300 farm ponds were dug up. Recharging structures set up in government institutions and schools also helped improve groundwater levels locally. According to the Kerala Land Use Board, a fourfold increase in groundwater recharge during monsoons was seen in the Nemom block compared to other blocks in Thiruvananthapuram district,” the study says.
Reflecting on the genesis of Jalasamrudhi, Satheesh highlighted the community’s pivotal role in its success. “During the 2016 election campaign, I witnessed firsthand the water crisis plaguing our constituency. I made a commitment to the people to find a solution,” he commented.
“The initiative mobilised 22 government departments, local elected representatives, and organisations like Kudumbashree. School students played a crucial role as ambassadors of the project. We even carried out a water literacy campaign, formed water clubs, and also convened a ‘water parliament’. On March 22, 2017, we held a programme, Water Abundance for Perennial Spring, coinciding with the World Water Day,” the MLA added.
The report underscores that it was the support the MLA received beyond political boundaries that gave a significant boost to the project. “It was officially two decades since the decentralisation of power that an MLA took the initiative to solve the problems faced by the people in a new style. Examples of these styles are the formation of the district council in 1991 and the implementation of the Kanjikuzhi model in Alappuzha,” the study says.
Source: New Indian express
Image credit: New Indian express
