Since The Govt Isn't Helping Them, Drought Struck Farmers Are Raising Money For A Canal Online!
Farmers in the Horti village in the drought-hit Osmanabad are raising money online to deepen a canal here, while hundreds are simultaneously toiling day and night in their village.
Over the last fortnight, the sleepy Horti village in the drought-hit Osmanabad has been witnessing a sudden rush of activity. More than 700 farmers have been toiling day and night, to deepen a canal in their village. "Actually, we're working on rewriting our fate," is how a villager describes it.
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Besides their own contribution, the villagers have also take help of an online crowdfunding forum to rake in more funds.
Most fields of this village in Tuljapur taluka have not seen any production for the last two agricultural seasons due to irregular rainfall and a dearth of irrigation facilities.
TOI
Villagers work at a frenetic pace as JCB operators roar with activity to widen, deepen and desilt the 8-km-long canal that runs across their farms. The aim is to increase the water-holding capacity of the dam before monsoon.
Cost of the work has been pegged at Rs 6 lakh. Of this, the villagers have collected nearly Rs 3 lakh. The rest is being raised through an online crowdfunding campaign. So far, the crowdfunding campaign has yielded more than Rs 1.9 lakh.
TOI
Ranganath Thota, of the crowdfunding platform, Fueladream, said that the villagers are incredulous that people who do not even know them are offering to contribute.
A resident of Horti village, M K Kulkarni, helped bring the villagers together besides contributing a huge chunk of the funds. He said:
"Most farms have been lying idle since two years. We have not had sufficient water supply. Even in such hard times, villagers too chipped in so work could begin."
A retired government employee, Kulkarni says that it would have taken months for the government machinery to complete this work. He says:
"Besides, the cost would have been much more."
Currently, the work has been going on in three shifts, with each farmer from the village inspecting the goings-on around the vicinity of his farm.
TOI
Farmer S G Kharade, who owns orchards in the village, recalled how the canal was always flush with water throughout the year. He said:
"Over the years, its maintenance was neglected due to which its water-holding capacity reduced."
The hard times, said Kharade, have also brought about a streak of positive things within the village. "We've learnt the importance of unity. While executing this massive project, we had initially expected differences of opinion among villagers. So far, not a single person has raised any kind of objection of any kind, thereby facilitating timely completion of the task," said Kharade.
For now, villagers are hopeful that their attempt to revive the canal and the prediction of a good monsoon will wash away their woes.
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