Rotary constructs check dams in Nashik

Rotary Club of Nashik, RID 3030, has constructed two check dams —  Shivshet Jalbandh in Ambe village; and Shriram Jalbandh in Shivshet village, both in the Peth taluk. The dams have a combined storage capacity of 1.1 crore litres of water.

When the Rotarians learnt about the severe water shortage in these villages, they worked on a war-footing. “Following our Board’s approval for a check dam in Ambe village, we pitched for CSR funds from Mahindra and Mahindra through our club member who is an executive there,” said Shrinandan Bhalerao, Director, Village Adoption Project (2018–19).

An MoU was signed with the corporate and the dam was constructed during August last year. “The villagers were delighted to see the check dam filled to the brim after the monsoon,” said Bhalerao.

The club soon got a request for another such facility at Shivshet village. This time Indian Valves came forward to pool in their funds to build a check dam there.

With these new facilities, water scarcity has been totally eliminated in the two hamlets. More importantly, the cropping pattern in the villages will undergo a major change as “now the farmers can sow two crops by using water from the check dams instead of depending on just a single yield,” said Bhalerao. This major change will increase their income, thus reducing their migration to cities.