Maharashtra: Villages gear up for 'Water Cup' to tackle drought

Parli, (Maharashtra) : In order to fight scarcity of water, a competition-'Water Cup' is being held between several villages in Mahrashtra's Parli town to see who is able to conserve the excess quantity of water.

The Water Cup competition is being organised Bollywood Actor, Aamir Khan's NGO, Paani Foundation where they happen to evaluate the villages over a period of 45 days. They also announced a cash reward of Rs 50 lakh for the winner.

Kaudgaon Huda, Shrikrishna Nagar Tanda, Shriram Nagar Tanda, Bhilegaon, Mamdapur, Moha, Parchundi, Vaka, Waghala, Vadkhel, Rewali and Maknathpur are the villages inside Parli which have been selected to participate in this unique competition.

A tireless work is underway in every village with the help of Earth movers to constructof enough multiple structures in order to ensure that rain water does not flow off and gets conserved.

Papnashi river, which was a direct source of water for around six villages in Parli, has dried off. It is being widened and deepened, so that more amount of water can be accumulated.

Also, structures like soak pits, farm ponds, check dam and trenches will augment the water table and provide long term water security.

The increased effectiveness of water storage will enhance crop yields and make villages not depend on water tankers during the cruel summer months. It would save the cost of bringing in water through 1.44 lakh tankers annually, over a minimum period of 20 years.

Parli is one of the worst affected areas in India with an overall irrigated area of only 1.72 percent which is way low compared to the national average of 40 percent.