When parched fields bloomed with flow of water

摘要

An initiative to build groundwater reserves has turned farmers' fortunes in Raigad districtUntil two decades ago, the tribal villages in the neighbouring gram panchayats of Wavoshi and Shedashi of Raigad district, Maharashtra, grew only a single crop of paddy. Meals were confined to rice and dried fish, and some local tubers, because, in spiteof heavy rain, there was limited percolation owing to the basalt rocks that are characteristic of these parts.The water would drain into the river, leaving the land parched and fallow for all dry seasons through the year. There was a major drinking water problem, too, during the dry months.