The ‘Pani Adva Pani Jirva’ scheme is proving to be a boon for Sattari, especially its agriculture sector. Under this scheme, the Water Resources Department (WRD) has constructed 74 bandharas at major rivers of the taluka, like Mhadei, Ragada, Valvanti, Velus and their tributaries to increase the water table.
The idea had been implemented by WRD Executive Engineer Pramod Badami and it seems to be a success. As per statistics received from the department, almost 99.9 lakh cubic metres of water has been stored in the bandharas.
Out of the 74 bandharas, 27 have been constructed at Velus, 10 at Valvanti, 4 at Ragada, and 6 at Mhadei. The rest have been constructed on tributaries.
The Ganjem bandhara has a storage capacity of 29 lakh cubic metres of water, some of which is also diverted to Opa river. Opa river it is a lifeline of Ponda and other parts of Goa, but contains less water between February and May.
The bandhara at Velguem can store 12 lakh cubic metres of water, Velus and Kudshem can store 6 lakh, while Sawarde can store 6.3 lakh.
As per information from the WRD, around 90 percent of the stored water is used for agricultural and drinking purposes. Large areas of land are irrigated with the help of lift irrigating systems at many locations. Farms that once barely received water are now getting it in abundance.
“The bandhara project was my proposal to boost agriculture in Sattari. Water is the main component of agriculture, and so, this project was taken up at different rivers. The positive results can be seen as most barren lands are under cultivation. I hope that it will boost agriculture more, but farmers should also be conscious about using water,” said Pratapsing Rane, opposition leader.
Arun Naik, assistant engineer of Valpoi irrigation department, stated, “We are trying to maintain all 74 bandharas for agricultural development. Thousands of farmers have benefitted from this water, and we are satisfied that agriculture is developing in this area.”
Expressing his views on the scheme, Ashok Joshi, a progressive farmer from Hadode, stated, “This is a very important project that has been initiated by Pratapsing Rane. Land is being used for agriculture since the last five years only because of this water.”
