Kerala village sets model to overcome ground water scarcity

Even as many parts of Kerala are under the threat of water scarcity owing to the increasing mercury level, a village in the suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram that used to suffer water scarcity has been heaving a sigh of relief over the last few years.

The net ground water availability of Kattakada region, about 20 km from Thiruvananthapuram city, has increased to 4,909.69 million cube metric (mcm) in 2020 from 4,241.93 mcm in 2017, while other nearby parts witnessed a fall during the period.

A slew of water conservation measures initiated by the local MLA I B Sateesh of the CPM is considered to have delivered this positive trend, which is still being sustained.

The region that was earlier classified as ‘semi-critical’ for ground water availability is now a ‘safe-zone’.

Impressed by the outcome, the project titled ‘Jalasamrudhi’ (water prosperity) is now being replicated at Thrithala in Palakkad district and Dharmadam in Kannur, which is the constituency of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Water conservation pits at all public institutions in the constituency, cleaning and maintenance of the wells and ponds, revival of paddy fields, improving the drains, setting up of check dams to slow down water flow and sourcing water from quarries were the major initiatives in Kattakada.

Kerala Land Use Commissioner (LUC) A Nizamudeen told DH that many wells in the region that used to dry up by November-December earlier were now having water even during March-April.

Satheesh said that water scarcity had been a burning issue of the region and hence he decided to address it on priority.

“Earlier people of the region had to depend on tanker lorries for water during summer. But over the last few years there has been no such situation. We could sustain it so far, even as the increasing mercury levels is a cause for concern,” he said.

It was in 2017 that the project was initiated. Pits with a capacity of 8,000 to 10,000 litres were taken close to existing wells in all public institutions in the region and the entire drain water was collected in these wells.

All ponds in the regions were cleaned and inland fishing started in 116 ponds so as to ensure that the ponds remain clean. As many as 19,000 wells in the regions that used to dry up during summer were cleaned and recharged.

Drains and streams in the region were improved to ensure proper water flow and eight check dams were constructed to slow down water flow.

Ground water level of the region is being continuously monitored by setting up scales in around 100 ponds.

An automatic weather station was also set up in the region for rain estimation.

The Jalasamridhi project of Kattakada was initiated by the MLA by incorporating various government projects like Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.