Better Irrigation Under Radhanath Swami's Inspiration, Development in Ramanwadi

Land under irrigation rises from 2.5 acres to 40 acres

Ramanwadi is an interior village close to Kolhapur in Maharashtra state, India. It had only 2.5 acre of cultivable land until the year 2000, primary reason being the unavailability of water for irrigation. There wasn’t sufficient water even for consumption. The villagers had to travel long distances to fetch water. Then, in the year 2000, Rahul Deshpande took this village under the umbrella of Venu Madhuri, and worked towards establishing a sustainable rural community here.

Now, as compared to the year 2000, forty acres of land is under irrigation in Ramanvadi. This has resulted in the soaring up of crop yields. The chart below gives an understanding.

How was this achieved?

With an aim to for making adequate water available for drinking and irrigation, till date 3 successful projects have been carried out.

• Percolation Tank (May 2003)

Under the guidance of Venu Madhuri, villagers worked together and constructed a 40 feet long and 15 feet high mud check dam. For this purpose, the villagers themselves were motivated to rally. They worked for months together, collecting money and free labor. Finally, the dam was constructed. Only locally available construction materials were used.

However in the very first rains, the dam was partially washed away due to the force of water. But the villagers rallied once again to repair the dam.

• Gravity Scheme 1 (March 2004)

Under this scheme, a 2700 feet pipeline was laid to carry water from stream to farms. Villagers contributed in cash, free labor and grains, and their contribution covered fifty percent of the project cost.

11 acres of additional land was brought under irrigation, resulting in additional income. Within three months, the villagers recovered their money. 40 families are reaping the benefits of this project.

• Gravity Scheme 2 (December 2006)

Under this second scheme a 9500 feet pipeline was laid to carry water from streams in deep forest to the farms. Again, villagers contributed for the finance, and today 29 acres of land is being brought under perennial irrigation due to this project. 18 families are being benefited.

Energy Conserved from these projects

An additional advantage of gravity schemes is that a lot of electric energy gets conserved, because the technology used makes use of gravity to transport water. The following calculations give a rough understanding of the energy conserved:

• Energy conserved in Gravity Scheme 1

8 (months) x 30 days x 24 hours = 5760 hours
5hp Monoblock water pump equivalent output
5hp water pump consumes 4 unit of electricity per hour
4 units x 5760 hours = 23,040 units Conserved/year

• Energy conserved in Gravity Scheme 2

8 (months) x 30 days x 24 hours = 5760 hours
10hp Monoblock water pump equivalent output
10hp water pump consumes 8 unit of electricity per hour
8 units x 5760 hours = 46,080 units Conserved/year

Total energy conserved by irrigation project = 23040 + 46080 units = 69,120 units/year. For the last 3 years, both the gravity schemes are benefiting Ramanwadi village.