In a series of consultations with farmers from all the hamlets of the E. Palaguttapalli Panchayat in January, the cattle pond was prioritised in this drought. Cattle have no water and fodder in this killing drought.
The Panchayat has been
facing an acute water crisis and drinking water is being provided through
tankers since the last two to three years, at 8 pots per family per day. This has to address the cooking and bathing and washing needs of the family as well as to provide for the cattle. So there was
little water left for the cattle, especially when they went out for grazing. A cow typically needs three pots of water a day ! So the
farmers decided that as a priority we
should expand the capacity of a tiny water body, some water collecting at the
bottom of a sheet rock slope. This tiny water body was being used by cattle for
drinking and washerman family for washing clothes. This pond would dry up soon
after the monsoon, by December-January. The farmers thought if
they built a small wall around this water body, more water can be stored and
there would be more water for the catlle (as well as for the washerman who are
now buying water).
An engineer was contacted to examine the plan and the
parameters, and after due consultations the project was grounded. An earthen
bund wall, although would have been cheaper, it was not possible as earth will
not stay glue to/ over a sheet rock. The wall had to be in concrete. Although
this would push up the cost, after due consultations, a concrete wall was considered
necessary and inevitable. One of the villagers, Shri. Sudhakar who has been
living in Tirupati promised and promptly delivered 100 bags of cement, costing
Rs. 35,000. After this money was tapped from other sources.
The
mud which had collected at the bottom of the slope had to be cleared first with
a JCB and pushed out and manual
labour had to be employed for thorough removal of the mud. Holes
were drilled on the sheet rock for building the wall. Just
when the concreting was about to start, there was rain and within just a few
days the pond had filled up with water weeds. The rain water had to be pumped
out and that took some time because the motor and power had to be arranged. One
farmer came forward to lend his pump and power was drawn from existing lines
but form a garden some distance away, and water was pumped out . All this took
a few weeks. Then the foundation was laid with village workers.
But it
was felt that the workers were not used to construction work, they were too
slow for the purpose. So a construction labour group was contacted and they
brought construction materials as well as professional workers and the wall was
erected.
Then it was felt if
the pond is not fenced, cattle would come in indiscriminately and dirty the
pond with dung and urine. This would not be a problem if the pond was on mud
terrain, as dung and dirt would settle down at the bottom of the pond. But
since this was sheet rock, dung and dirt would ferment and contaminate the water and soon even cattle
would not want to drink it. Therefore a barbed wire fence was considered and
pillars were put up around the pond for the barbed wire fence. It was proposed
that entry for cattle would be restricted to summer months only. A small trough
would be built outside so that cattle can drink from it. The fence and the
trough are still to be erected.
In the meantime it was
also noticed that a few days ago some pilgrims to Tirumala who walk through the
village had descended on the pond and had a nice bath using soap and shampoo,
and washed clothes! Some people were also bringing their motor vehicles, like
motor bikes, tractors, etc. and giving
them a wash at the pond! All these confirmed the necessity for a fence. Now we
have to raise funds for the same. It was decided to write on the wall of the
pond a strict notice prohibiting such activities.
On Aug
21, The Spl. Chief Secretary,
Agriculture, GOAP Shri, T. Vijaya kumar and the Collector, Shri. Siddhrtha Jain
visited the village and the farmers got
the pond officially inaugurated by them. 
The previous night and
on the same day there had been a heavy downpour, and it was found that water
from the eastern side was escaping, not
flowing into the pond. It was decided to get this rectified through shram daan
the next day. The next morning a few farmers gathered with crowbars, spades and
knives and worked to divert the water duly into the pond.
The farmers did the shram daan, cracking a lot of jokes and pulling each others’ legs. Spirits were high: a task had been accomplished, rains had come, water had come into the pond to a height of two feet, the Collector and Chief Secretary had promised support through govt. schemes. There was optimism.
(writeup courtsey Uma Shankari garu.)
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