all’s Well in Bundelkhand
In Banda, a perennially drought-prone district in Uttar
Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region, a people’s movement,
Bhujal Badhao, Payjal Bachao (Increase groundwater, save
drinking water), aims to find practical solutions to acute
water shortage. The plan involves conserving water and
recharging groundwater to the extent of 11,000 cu m by
constructing contour trenches around 2,183 handpumps
and 260 wells. The campaign was supported by 471 village
panchayats, as well as Banda district magistrate Hira Lal.
The bureaucrat managed funds from the MGNREGA, and
the panchayats got the local communities to offer free
labour and financial support. WaterAid India, which is
involved with the project, is also working on similar initia-
tives in Fatehpur and Kanpur districts of the state. O
Lola Nayar
5 august 2019 OutlOOk 31
Photograph: getty images