Renovation of water bodies brings prosperity

INTRODUCTION Badera Bharas Gram Panchayat falls under Bhitarwar block in Gwalior District. Occurrence of low rainfall over many years had created a situation where the villagers could not fulfil their domestic and agricultural needs. During summer, the villagers had to walk around 3 km to fetch drinking water. All the hand pumps and wells had dried up due to depletion of groundwater. Consequently, agricultural productivity declined, and the land had started turning fallow. Overall, the situation was such that the villagers were compelled to migrate. Therefore, the Gram Panchayat decided to undertake different water conservation and harvesting works by constructing check dams, canals and renovation of ponds.