Media Coveragae

Sakshi news paper published about the activities of SaciWATERs taken up in Ravirala, Maheshwaram Mandal, Hyderabad, India.

Construction of a Water Storage Tank

The water supply in the village of Ravirala is very erratic. The situation is worse as this supply is dependent on the electricity. People tend to store water and use it at the time of necessity. However, the students at the school are vulnerable to this situation. After the mid day lunch, these students do not have water to wash their hands as there is no power during that time. Hence, SaciWATERs felt the need of constructing a storage tank in the school premises. With the help of Ravirala Water User Association, SaciWATERs facilitated the construction of the water storage tank. The school head master conveyed his hearty thanks to both SaciWATERs and Ravirala Water User Association for the noble work. The school children expressed their gratitude towards SaciWATERs for providing such an important facility in their school.

Capacity Building Training Programme on Rain Water Harvesting and Management for Ravirala & Aliabad Farmers

A Capacity Building Training Programme was conducted on “Water Harvesting and Management” on the 28th and 29th of March, 2012 at Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA). The training was targeted at farmers, women and youth of the Ravirala and Aliabad villages.

1^st Day – 28^th March, 2012:

The training was initiated at Research In Environment, Education And Development Society (REEDS) office, Champapet. Mr. Satya Bhoopal Reddy, President - Reeds Organization, had started the programme by introducing the topic - “Roof Rain Water Harvesting and Management” to the participants. Consecutively, he demonstrated a Roof Rain Water Harvesting structure which he built in 1993.

Photograph 1: Demonstration of Rain Water Harvesting Structures

The participants later gathered at CRIDA for further sessions. Mr. I. Srinivas. Senior Scientist, CRIDA (Farm Machinery and Power) has enlightened the participants on the latest agricultural techniques & methods. He suggested that each farmer should go for agricultural machinery which can save manure by 30 % and seed by 30%. Solar dried products and their uses were also discussed by him. Participants were also told about various schemes available for youth from DRDA. Women were explained about the advantages of large scale production of these products and the means of getting a loan.

Field Visit:

A field visit was organized for all participants. Mr. Satish, S.R.F explained about a rainwater harvesting pond & showed an experimental micro watershed. 

Photograph 2: Participants being shown of an experimental Micro Watershed

After lunch, Mr. Srinivasa Reddy, Scientist, CRIDA spoke in detail about dryland agriculture and watershed programme.  Participants were advised to go for plantation as it helps in absorbing the rain water. He also explained about importance of farm bunding, with an insight into clay bundings and their uses.  Participants were told about various NREGS schemes that are useful to them.

2^nd Day – 29^th March, 2012:

Mr. Ramappa, the technical assisstant began by introducing the concepts and methods of soil conservation. He explained the importance of farm bunds in moisture retention.

Later, participants were taken on a field visit.

Photograph 3: Display of various machinery to the participants.

Dr. T. R. Tyagaraj took over after the tea break on the topic -  Drought – Water Management, Global Warming & Irrigation. He suggested farmers to go for crops which consume less water unlike paddy or sugar cane. He told the benefits of cultivating the crops using Drip System, where technology can be obtained from APMIP.

Photograph 4: Manure Management

Mr. Dasarathrami Reddy, Plant protection –SMS- CRIDA, spoke about pest control. He suggested that all participants should take interest in pest control. He also explained about the life cycle of some of insects. 

Mr. Joseph, S.M.S – Agriculture Extension trained the participants in the area of “Communication Skills”.

  

Photograph 5: Insight into various Agricultural Methods.

Mr. Sri Krishna, gave an insight on the production methods of vegetables, insects & pest control methods.

Conclusion:

Overall, the training turned out to be a fruitful one for the people of both villages as they got solutions to most of the problems faced by them.

The trainings also included communication skills to enhance the Committees of both the villages in their roles & responsibilities.

Photograph 6: Few Participants of the Training

53 acres of an important resource, Now a village anguish

Peerancheru, a village located close to the Outer Ring Road has had a massive real estate boom. But the pitiable state of the Peerancheru lake has masked the blessing of development in this region........

Photograph 1

As I was entering into the village, I really wondered if this place can still be called a village. I was welcomed by high rise buildings; and also majority of the houses were more than two floors. I noticed that these buildings were all new, with latest designs mostly built in the last two years (Photograph 1). It was very evident that small, old styled houses were slowly being replaced by these modern, chic houses. For once, I thought that I was in a place just like any other urban colony. But then, a hard reality struck to me, when I saw a man  carrying a water vessel over his shoulder walking towards his home. I also noticed a motorcyclist carrying an Ibibo water can. As I slowly moved to the centre of village, I saw women carrying these heavy water vessels and walking long distances!

Photograph 2

At the Gram Panchayat, we noticed two community water tanks. One tank stored the fresh water, while the other one stored the bore water (salt water). The bore water tank has an altitude of around 30 feet. Around the fresh water tank, I spotted a group of women (Photograph 2) who had gathered to collect water. It was a pitiable sight to see a woman aged around 60 years carrying water to her home. With such good housing facilities, I was inquisitive to know their water situation. On enquiring, I was shocked to hear that these people are supplied with drinking water once in a week, once in twenty days or even once in a month! And hence, most often, they are left with no choice but to consume salt water, when they are devoid of the fresh water. Some households have direct pipelines to their homes; supplying both freshwater as well as the salt water. But, these women do not depend upon the pipeline, since they are very well aware of the erratic supply of water. Everyday, these women spend about one and a half hours in transporting this precious resource to their homes.

Photograph 3

Photograph 4

Finally after seeing the ground reality, it was time for us to interact with few of the officials & the village representatives. Peerancheru lake is a very precious resource for the people of this village. Only if this lake is full, the bore wells are fully recharged and water problems in the village will be solved. But, it has been more than 20 years since the lake has been used as a source of drinking water. The villagers felt very nostalgic remembering those days when the lake was a vital part of their lives. It served as a source of drinking water as well as other domestic purposes. Down the lane, few communities also had been benefitted from the lake, where fishes were cultivated as a livelihood option. But now, the situation has changed so drastically over the years that this lake can’t even be used for washing clothes (Photograph 4). Fishing activity could not be continued as the fishes could not survive the highly polluted water. Moreover, it was also very dangerous for humans to consume fish grown in such toxic water.

There are three reasons for the pollution of the lake.

1.  The Andhra Pradesh Police Academy (APPA) releases its effluents into the lake (Photograph 5);
2. The waste from the slaughter houses is being dumped in the vicinity of the lake (Photograph 6). In the process, the runoff from this waste is leading to the contamination of the water.
3.  The third and the most important reason for the pollution of the lake is the release of effluents from a big private hospital – Shadan Hospital

Photograph 5

Photograph 6

The villagers claimed that even after repeated complaints and pleadings to the concerned government departments/officials regarding the release of the effluents into the lake, no action has been taken place.  Adding to the plight is the dumping of waste in the periphery of the lake by the slaughter houses. The waste is also dumped in an area which is just above the drinking water pipeline. In the past, the drinking water got contaminated with the leachate from the waste. The pipeline had to be repaired and the drinking water supply had to be halted for few days. Huge waste is also dumped along the circumference of the lake. This waste is also deposited in the open effluent discharge pipeline (APPA Effluent pipeline), thus carrying the waste with its effluent stream into the lake (Photograph 7). This runoff is the reason for increase in the turbidity, odour as well as the BOD in the lake.

Photograph 7

Photograph 8

The biggest source of pollution in the lake is the Shadan Hospital which releases its chemical effluents into the lake. On careful observations, we can clearly identify the oil-water interface on the surface of the water (Photograph 8). The villagers have been fighting over this issue for quite a few years. These people have left no stone unturned to meet bureaucrats, officials, representatives, etc, pleading for protecting the lake from the noxious effluents. The representatives of the village articulate that the hospital has big political backup due to which all their pleas and complaints have been turned down leaving them extremely helpless and vulnerable. 

 

However, some citizens of the village are still hopeful of justice in their favour, some day in the future. It’s good to see these brave people fighting against highly influential people for their basic rights to clean waters.

Rural Living and Learning Experience (RLLE) by two interns from XIMB, Bhubaneswar

When we came to know that we had to work with SaciWATERs under the Rural Living and Learning Experience (RLLE) of Xavier's Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, we felt very happy and at the prospect of working in peri-urban water development that interests us a lot. Not worrying much about our stay and food, we were excited about the kind of work that we were going to do in the field. 

Harvest of agricultural produce in Aliabad

During the one month of the internship, our work was divided into three phases. The first phase involved understanding of the ongoing project, literature review, and preparation of research proposal to study about the water availability and access, irrigation systems and the Shamirpet lake in Aliabad  village, which is 30 km away from Hyderabad. The second phase involved fieldwork where we got an opportunity to understand the concept of a peri-urban area and how a rural area transforms into peri-urban due to developmental activities without considering the damage caused by them to the environment. The third phase involved report writing and consolidating the internship. 

Discussion with the farmers

The main objectives of the research were to understand the current farming practices and irrigation systems in Aliabad, the effects of developmental activities around Aliabad, and to understand farmer’s perception about climate change. Availability and distribution of water in SC colony of the village was also studied along with gender issues affecting access to water sources.

Regarding the study about pattern of water consumption and access in the households we did gender disaggregated survey among the SC colony largely and also in other parts of the village. As this village is located in the peri-urban area lot of ground water pollution has occurred due to extension of roads and establishment of industries. Hence, commercialization of drinking water has started in the area. Currently there are five water purification plants in the village which sells water to the people. People who can afford to buy water for drinking are purchasing water from these water plants. None of the five purification plants are located in the SC colony which is located about a kilometre away from the main village. 

Talking to a water purification plant owner

Water supply in the village is taken care of by the village Gram Panchayat through underground water pipelines laid from over head tanks, separate installed bore wells in many streets so that people can collect water from the common stand points. Previously people used to depend on agriculture but nowadays there is a drastic decrease in the number of people who are practicing agriculture. The reasons are drastic decrease in the rain fall, increased employment opportunities due to nearby industries. As the input costs of agriculture are increased they are more inclined to work with industries as daily labour. Also, water from the Shamirpet Lake has greatly reduced due to real estate development and blockage of channels.The Shamirpet Lake used to have surplus water to supply for the agricultural fields of Aliabad and other villages also. But nowadays due to rampant developmental activities in the area around the lake and due to decrease in the rainfall the water level activities has gone down. It used to supply water for two crops but now days it could not supply water for even one crop properly.

LEARNINGS FROM RLLE: During our stay for one month with the organization and in the village stay we learned many things here we have tried to put on some of them. During the field stay we had stayed in the house of an ex- sarpanch of the village where we learned how to build rapport with villagers and how to manage the things during stay in the village. Socio economic factors play a role in the access of water such as the income level and the caste to which one belongs in the village. Hence we learned how to talk carefully with the people without hurting them and at the same time to collect the relevant information.We could observe that there is still discrimination of people based on their caste which needs to be changed.We learnt how to interact with the women in the self help groups and to know how they are trying to manage the things better in the village. Learned how to conduct focussed group discussions with farmer groups and observed how a rural area gets transformed into a peri- urban area. Previously we used to feel that it would be very difficult to conduct gender dis-aggregated surveys, but now we feel comfortable in this area and there are many things to learn how the man in the family influence the response of women in the house for an question.We learned how the water allocations between the villages will be there without conflicts and how do they resolve if any conflict arises and had an understanding about how urbanization affects the agriculture and water accessibility in the area. 

We thank XIMB and SaciWATERs for providing us with such an opportunity to work with them and simultaneously learn how to work with an organization and to understand the rural dynamics and how several factors plays role in access of water in the village.


Aditya Kurla and Subhash Kumar
PGDM - Rural Management
XIMB, Bhubaneswar

Ravirala village members visit Mondigowrelly to study Watershed Development

On the morning of 4^th Nov, 2011 a team of villagers from Ravirala, one of project sites at Hyderabad, visited Mondigowrelly at Yacharam mandal to study the “contours and dynamics” of watershed development. The main aim was to expose the team to possible watershed activities that they could take up to improve water availability for agriculture in general, and to increase the groundwater table in and around Ravirala, in particular. The visit was also motivated by the need for villagers to come together to form a Village Water and Sanitation Committee which could act as a coordinating body for water and sanitation related work in the village and work around the restoration of the Ravirala cheruvu.

Mondigowrelly is village in Yacharam mandal, Ranga Reddy district which has benefitted tremendously from watershed related activities carried out by the village with technical help from MV Foundation, a NGO in Secunderabad and funding from NABARD.

It was a good opportunity for the team to discuss various aspect of funding available, and the process and science behind watershed development. A NET study which maps the topography of the area is undertaken prior to the project to identify the terrain and slope of the land, the water spots and agricultural and other land use patterns in the area under study. Watershed structures are built in accordance with the plan drawn up, and the team got to visit a few of these.

Contour bunds at Mondigowrelly are constructed on a number of farmlands depending on the slope of the land. These break the flow of water from uphill and also allow water to percolate into the ground at regular intervals. At certain points along the area, percolation bunds have also been set up which allow water to stagnate and percolate into the ground more slowly.

The Ravirala team appeared very interested in the dynamics of cooperation between farmers on the placement of these bunds as certain farmlands would stand to be disadvantaged for certain time periods during the course of the project.

A stop at the check dam built at the lower end of the watershed area led to an interesting debate between the members present, on the advantages and disadvantages of the dam being a useful method to convert dry and barren land into agricultural land. The group was interested in a comparison of the perceived increase in the level of the groundwater table before and after the project was introduced.

The team also visited the agricultural fields of a few farmers in the village to get a more nuanced understanding of how the project has started to improve their irrigation and agricultural operations. The farmers at Mondigowrelly had chosen a wide variety of crops including jatropha, mint and castor that are less water intensive. Drip irrigation is also practiced. These practices complemented the gradual rise of the water table in an area that was once dry and barren, the technical team explained

Funding for watershed development is given by NABARD which requires that a farming village that requests funds for watershed development must pitch in 20 % of the total estimated cost of the project (worked out in the NET plan) locally, to carry out any small activity related to the larger project. This can pertain to something as simple as constructing a contour bund with the village pitching in, in cash or in other forms.

*Team at Contour/Percolation Bund constructed by villagers of Mondigowrelly as a pilot project to procure funding from NABARD

At Mondigowrelly, as informed to the team, it was decided that every family in the village, farming or otherwise had to put in 4 man days of work. While some people contributed money for construction materials, others contributed provisions and the like for the entire construction phase of the pilot project. This site was then inspected by NABARD officials who have sanctioned funds for the project for 5 years.

Overall, the team from Ravirala appeared to appreciate this informative visit as was evident from their discussions amongst themselves and the team from MVF. They raised a lot of technical questions and were interested in knowing the kind of watershed development that could take place in Ravirala. They spoke of feeder channels to the Ravirala cheruvu being blocked by construction of check dams in these channels itself by settlements upstream. The exposure thus gained should help this team convey their field experiences to other members of their village at subsequent meetings and contribute to a better  understanding of the issues that a Village Water and Sanitation Committee can initiate.

Altering Water Boundaries for ‘planned development’

Mallampet village in Qutubhullapur Block in Hyderabad is one of the most rapidly urbanizing villages in the city. A number of high-rise residential colonies have sprung up in the vicinity along with many industrial units around this village. As a result of widespread land development and commercial activities, the farmers and land owners of this village have particularly suffered as many culverts that supplied water are now broken and there is inadequate water supply for their fields. Also, a number of tanker operators are abstracting ground water from this village to sell it to the surrounding areas. This has made farming a less viable occupation, and farmers prefer selling off their lands or installing bore-wells in their fields for selling water as a more lucrative option. Another major setback has been the construction of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) through the outer boundary of the village. This road is actually cutting across a major water body called the ‘Khatwa tank’ which has been the source of livelihood for a number of fishers and source of water to the farms of many.  A large part of the water body has been encroached upon for this construction.

Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority or HMDA is the urban planning agency, and is responsible for the construction of the ORR. Formed in 2008 after merging erstwhile entities of Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA), Hyderabad Airport Development Authority (HADA), Cyberabad Development Authority (CDA) and Buddha Poornima Project Authority (BPPA), it covers the entire area of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and its suburbs. It coordinates the development activities of the municipal corporations, municipalities and other local authorities, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board, the Andhra Pradesh Transmission Corporation, the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation, the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation, and other such bodies.

According to the map of the master plan 2021 (http://www.hmda.gov.in/ViewMap.html), the road is not supposed to cut across the tank but on ground, the situation is far from the proposed version. Enquiring more on this dichotomy and finding out the department responsible for the situation is what brought us to the HMDA office.

After moving from one table to another and unable to locate even one contact person to be able to speak to, finally we were directed towards the Planning Office. Moving through labyrinthine corridors and passing one department after the other, we reached the concerned office. A senior official heard our case patiently, and then explained how the HMDA is responsible for executing the master plan and building the physical infrastructure. “We are not looking at the protection of lakes or providing water to the communities, that is looked after by the lakes department”, he said. The construction of the ORR is as per the master plan and our job is to stick to it. The HMDA has no role with any village development activity”, he added. We also got to know that a minimum buffer zone of 10m is supposed to be kept around the lake, which has been clearly violated in Mallampet’s case.

Our next meeting was at the Lakes Division where we spoke to an Executive Engineer. An enthusiastic official – he narrated how the department was involved in lake protection and development projects. Hyderabad is a city with currently about 400 small and large lakes or tanks and managing each and every water body is not an easy task for the authorities. The HMDA is increasingly encouraging the corporate sector to adopt and take responsibility of a lake and help them in their endeavour. Waterfronts of a few lakes in Hyderabad have been developed with walkways and landscaping. There is also a Lake Development Authority (LDA) which is an autonomous and regulatory body formed to take remedial measures and to restore and revitalize the dying lakes. Regarding, the ORR, the official only had one question to ask, “How can the ORR pass through the lake?”

We met another senior official of the Buddha Purnima Project Authority (BPPA) next. This authority is responsible for the protection and development of Husain Sagar Lake and its environs in 902 ha. He started explaining how the encroachment process by the land mafia works – the recharge points of the lake are blocked first. When the water channels are blocked, the lake automatically dries up and gradually becomes a dumping ground. It is encroached upon later by informal settlements and ultimately the land is sold off to a private developer.

But the case of the government being involved in encroaching upon a lake came as a big surprise and he out-rightly denied any information on the situation in Mallampet. However, he also asked us to give evidence on this situation based on which they can take the issue forward. “We need the wisdom of NGOs to work accordingly”, he remarked.

There are various wings and departments under the urban authority in charge of the ‘planned development’ of the Hyderabad metropolitan region. But one can easily gauge the exclusivity in the functioning of these departments where information with one department is limited within its own making the authorities unaware of the ground situation as well as of the overlapping issues and facts. As much as the NGOs have to work closely with the governments on cross-cutting issues, the government departments must also make efforts to be in sync with one another especially those dealing with the same issue. 

Training Programme on Fundamentals of Livelihood Promotion

BASIX - The Livelihood School, conducted a training programme on ‘Fundamentals of livelihood promotion - Integrated module on identification, designing and management of livelihood interventions’ from 26^th-30^th September 2011 at the Disaster Management Institute, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Mr. P. Rajkumar, Research Assistant – Hyderabad Team, attended the programme from SaciWATERs.

Topics like livelihood promotions, fundamentals, identifications, designing and management of livelihood interventions, marketing plans, managing production and productivity, monitoring and evaluation were mainly discussed by the resources persons. The programme was planned in an interactive manner and informative resource books were provided.

Apart from the training, a local market survey was also organised which helped us understand the position of market, opportunities and needs of the people in the market. Account maintenance was also covered in detail with focus on the income and expenditure statements, balance sheets etc.

The ‘Human Resources in Livelihood Intervention’ session included the basics of HR, managing and developing HR, importance of recruitment of staff, staff induction, roles and responsibilities, reviews, appraisals etc. Apart from this we also learnt how to improve the skills for livelihood practitioners, co ordination within the working teams, working in partnership, building the capacity among the rural people etc.

The success of any project is based on a good monitoring and evaluation system. This helps an activity or project to be organised and also allows to measure the effective work done and extracting the exact results. We were taught on how a monitoring plan helps in improving efficiency, systematic analysis, and proper usage of resources. 

by P. Rajkumar

Capacity Building Workshop and Exposure Visit to Model Village, Hyderabad, June 21 -22, 2011

The first Capacity Building Workshop of the Hyderabad Project was organised on June 21^st and 22^nd, 2011. This workshop was targeted towards community and government officials working at the local level in the peri-urban field sites. The workshop was meant to understand issues from the implementation agencies and introduce them to ideas of citizen participation and building public-private partnership in accessing water services through talks, discussions and an exposure visit to Gangadevipally model village in Warangal, Andhra Pradesh. This provided an opportunity to interact and learn among members of the group regarding better governance practices and addressing issues of water management, tank restoration and village level development in favour of the vulnerable communities.

 
 A total of 22 government and community officials 
 attended the Capacity Building Workshop

 22 government and community officials from four villages and sub-districts of peri-urban Hyderabad participated in the two-day workshop conducted at Warangal. The visit to the model village was made on the first day and group discussions and shared learning on the second day. 

Gangadevipally village Sarpanch addressing the participants 
on how the village developed into a self-sufficient model village. 

Gangadevipally village: Gangadevipally is a village in Geesukonda Mandal in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh and is 160 km far from Hyderabad. This village has been setting new trends by adopting innovative approaches in community development. Sarpanch Mr. Kusam Raja Mouli initiated the transformation of this village by banning the sale and consumption of alcohol first. Till the year 1993, this village faced severe water scarcity. Bala Vikasa Social Service Society, a Warangal-based NGO assisted in solving the drinking water problem here by uniting the community strongly who contributed their money, time and labour in completing the project which provided a permanent solution to their water needs. Villagers were formed into 18 groups and leaders were elected from each group and thus, a water committee was formed. Water projects have become an important source of income generation in this village. There are 22 committees in the village looking after education, health, farmers’ development, women’s issues, environment protection etc. Majority of the families participate and get an opportunity to lead some or the other committee and all the villagers abide by the decisions of the committee. This village has been adjudged the best mandal level and district level village more than once and has received the Bharatha Ratna Rajiv Gandhi best village award at the national level (in 2007). 40% of the current residents in the village have migrated here in the last 15 years due to improved facilities and opportunities.

Enthusiastic children at Gangadevipally. 100 percent children have access to education in this village.

Participants at Fort Warangal

 Day 2: Day two started with an early morning visit to the exquisite Fort Warangal – which was the capital of the Kakatiya dynasty. Post breakfast, Mr. R. Murali, Convenor of MARI, facilitated a discussion session. Ten guest village officials from another Anantaram village also participated in this session. Anantaram has been recently awarded the 'Model Village of India' title and is located in Jinnaram Mandal of Medak district of Andhra Pradesh. Along with eight women community leaders, the village Sarpanch introduced their village and various effective development measures undertaken.

After a rich round of discussion on various village related issues, Mr. Murali then facilitated the group to discuss factors that have led to the processes of change in the two model villages and the steps that need to be adopted to replicate this in other villages. It was understood that shared leadership and decentralisation of power is the most important factor. Apart from this, shared norms and consensus, facilitation and support from organisations especially NGOs, awareness about on-going village schemes, and coordination with the immediate line departments to facilitate this process were many of the factors identified by the group for the efficient functioning of the gram sabha. 

The workshop concluded with suggestions and experience sharing from each participant individually. Options for intervention in the peri-urban field villages and ways of actualizing them were discussed. The villagers suggested protecting the Shamirpet lake by installing a water purification plant, while the Ravirala village folk suggested having a tree plantation drive in order to recharge their very low water table. Village action plan for each of the 4 sites was discussed and formulated.

- by Vasundhara Dash