Parched agricultural fields, dried up tanks and dwarf unproductive crops. These are common features that welcome any visitor to any village of North Karnataka. The only commodity available in abundance in this region is the scorching sun and the scarce commodity is of course water.

But these are things of the past as far as some villages are concerned. This is due to the ambitious plan launched by the Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB), a leading regional rural bank of the country that has taken up the task of the revival of tanks in its area of operation.

Till recently, villagers were sceptical about the programme itself since they had seen and experienced tank revival projects that had been launched and failed in most of the villages. Any number of projects launched in the past by both State and Union Governments for the rejuvenation of tanks had only benefited a few officials and certainly not thousands of villagers, making villagers suspect the intentions behind such a programme.

Even after 60 years of independence, most villages in the region depend either on rains or borewells not only for drinking water but also for agricultural purpose. In the absence of a good harvest, bank debts mount and farmers are forced to sell their land to clear dues.

Unfortunately, people have failed to understand the importance of tanks and ponds that are found in a large number in every village. Unfortunately, most of them are in a state of disuse as they are being converted into garbage dumping grounds. Water weeds and polluted water also make them unfit for human consumption. As a result, women trek three to four kilometres everyday to collect water from nearby borewells.

Reckless sinking of borewells without proper programmes for the recharge of underground water table has further compounded the problem of water scarcity in the region as borewells become defunct soon.

At this juncture, Mr M Dhananjaya, chairman of KVGB, decided to strengthen basic infrastructure in villages. Incidentally, at the same time, Syndicate Bank, the sponsor bank, asked all the regional rural banks to take up the task of cleaning up all the existing village tanks as a social welfare measure.

In the first phase, about 20 villages were selected for the purpose. The task of cleaning up the tanks turned out to be Herculean as villagers were not so keen to fall in line at first. However, surmounting initial hiccups and the problem of petty village politics, select tanks/ponds in each of the districts of its area of operation comprising Bagalkot, Belgaum, Bijapur, Dakshina Kannada, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Udupi and Uttara Kannada were cleaned and desilted to ensure the storage of clean water.

During his branch visits, Mr Dhananjaya stressed the importance of water harvesting and also that of cleaning up tanks and undertaking desilting work to increase their storage capacity. Highly impressed with the sincerity of his words and with the belief that this could be an effective step to overcome water scarcity to a certain extent, villagers were charged with enthusiasm. And so the saga began.

Of the many interesting episodes that emerged from this project is the one from Bhalki K H, an adopted village of the Gunji Branch in Khanapur Taluk of Belgaum district. The village tank, the only source of water for the village, was in total disrepute.

However, cleaning work was undertaken in consultation with the village leaders. A special feature of this tank is the replenishment it receives from a spring closeby. The path of this spring was lost in the thick undergrowth and after clearing, there is now a continuous inflow of clean water into the tank.

Looking at the amazing results of a simple action, the Taluk Panchayat Officials volunteered to arrange for pumping water from the tank to the village for domestic use. Many people in the village had not realised that there was water under the weeds! “So much water was going a waste every year,” exclaimed the villagers, summing up the success of the scheme.

Similar experiences and reactions were reported from Vanahalli of Shiggaon Taluka, Huvinashigali and Chowdihal of Savanur Taluka, Hiremannur of Ron Taluka, Madanahalli of Halyal Taluka, Hunashittikoppa and Togralli of Yellapur Taluka, Iruvail of Moodubidri, Arekurahatti of Navalgund Taluka, Ingalagi and Konkanakurahatti of Kundagol Taluka, Inchal of Savadatti Taluka, Wagawade and  Hammanagi of Belgaum District, Sunag and Kalasakoppa of Bagalkot District, and Sarawad and Honnutagi of Bijapur District.

In many places desilting work, extension of the catchment area and the building of tank bund have been carried out with the fond hope that in the ensuing rainy season the storage of water will go up and ultimately last for a long time. Villagers have also been educated about the importance of keeping water bodies clean, water harvesting and related issues on these occasions.

The success of the project has spurred KVGB to take up many more activities of a similar nature. Mr M Dhananjaya had issued a clarion call to clean 100 more village tanks before the onset of this monsoon. According to a spokesperson of the bank, this silent movement has gathered momentum and the work is either in progress or is nearing completion in all the select centres. A marvellous beginning indeed!