Resurrecting heritage tanks

Recently, Doddakondagola village of Hassan taluk witnessed a unique collective effort to resurrect heritage water tanks in the village. Hundreds of volunteers joined hands with Bhoomi Foundation that had conceived the activity.

In the beginning, the foundation discussed the reasons for the acute water problem in the area with the villagers. During the discussions, the need to desilt  water sources was stressed, and subsequently, a date was fixed for the work. Later, news was spread through various platforms and hundreds of people from self-help groups, scouts and guides association, government offices, etc gathered to desilt the historical Arishina Kalyani and Teertha Kalyani.

While water springs came alive in both the kalyanis, from Teertha Kalyani, ancient idols of Lord Channakeshava and Lord Krishna were retrieved. It was decided to cart the silt to the neighbouring farms. Acknowledging the team’s work, Assistant Commissioner H L Nagaraj announced financial support to the foundation’s work.

“We have identified certain villages in Hassan taluk for a pilot project on water conservation. As part of this, two to three tanks or kalyanis are desilted every week,” he said. About 2,000 volunteers have been given orientation about the work.

Roopa Hassan, a member of the foundation, said, “It is a collaborative effort. We have been getting support from both the government and private donors in this work. We will also start planting saplings along the roads just before the monsoons.”