Bari (Jharkhand): Not long ago farmer Mahendra Mahato used to fetch water from a distant reservoir to irrigate his land for a single crop at Bari village in Latehar's Chandwa block.
Now, Mahato not only irrigates from the dug-well he constructed recently under the MG-NREGA scheme but also added another crop.
"Sir, earlier I used to fetch water from the reservoir and had a single crop. After constructing the dug-well I have added another crop," Mahato told Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh who visited Mahato's small agri-land on Sunday during his three-day visit of Latehar, Palamau and Garhwa districts.
"Also others in the village are benefitting from the new water source," Mahato said when the minister enquired whether the water is being used by the neighbourhood as well.
"Are you giving water (to other villagers)?" asked Ramesh. "Yes, Sir," replied the humble farmer.
"In Gujarat they sell water," the minister informed accompanying Latehar Deputy Commissioner Aradhana Patnaik. "But here the culture is different. They (villagers) share," the DC replied.
Appeared happy at the village cooperative culture, Ramesh inspected a couple of more such dug-wells and reservoirs in Latehar and Palamau districts during his visit that ended yesterday.
"Due to MG-NREGA, 79,000 dug-wells have been constructed across Jharkhand, helping the farmers and others. I have asked the state government to upload details of dug-wells in the site, so that other states could emulate the farmer-friendly initiative," Ramesh said.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, January 02, 2013, 17:59