Nashik
Due to the satisfactory rainfall in the district this year, there is an intention to build 4570 Vanrai Bandharas (forest dams/bunds) in the district through public participation by the agriculture department to save the water flowing from the streams and drains.
District Superintendent Agriculture Officer Vivek Sonawane has appealed that as many villagers as possible should participate and cooperate in this activity.
In the year 2022-23, through the Agriculture Department, the activity of constructing forest dams will be implemented everywhere to provide protected irrigation and drinking water to livestock.
In this, by blocking the flow of water in the traditional way and storing water, the water requirement for non-monsoon season crops can be met. For this, a temporary embankment is to be constructed for the Vanrai Dam using materials like cement, empty bags of fertilizers, soil and sand etc.
By constructing the Vanrai dams, water will be available for daily use to the local people. Also, by increasing the water level of the surrounding wells, drawing water from these reservoirs will greatly help in harvesting summer crops.
It takes approximately 7 to 15 days to construct the forest dams and taking into account the continuous flow of water after rains, it is generally necessary to store the water before it gets dry.
For this, it is beneficial to select the site by considering the technical criteria outside the catchment area. For that, the place should be selected with the view of how it will be possible to store maximum water at a minimum cost by inspecting the drain.
Similarly, the drain should be narrow and deep, the storage capacity should be adequate, and the bottom slope of the drain should generally be 2 to 3 per cent deep.
The height of the Vanrai Bandhara should not exceed 1.5 meters. In villages where watershed development works are not started, if Vanrai Dam is constructed in such a village, relief will be given to overcome water scarcity.
15 tehsils have been fixed for the construction of 4570 forest dams. 6048 hectares area will come under protected irrigation.
Accordingly, the District Superintendent Agriculture Officer Sonawane has also informed that the nearest taluka agriculture office should be contacted to know the technical aspects and criteria for constructing the dam.
