THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amid Kerala’s escalating climate challenges and dwindling groundwater reserves, micro-level initiative ‘Jalasamrudhi’ has emerged as a beacon of success in the Kattakada assembly constituency. Implemented over the past seven years, this community-based conservation programme has not only halted the acute water scarcity the people of the locality have been facing for the past two decades but also significantly replenished groundwater levels. The project officially commenced in 2017 and has since become a cornerstone of sustainable development in the region. According to a comprehensive study by Gautam Ganapathy and Salil C S titled ‘Bureaucracy, Sustainable Development and Decentralisation: Reflections on Jalasamrudhi, a Community-based Water Conservation Programme in Kerala’, groundwater availability in Kattakada has surged from 1,355 million cubic metres (mcm) to 4,908.68 mcm between 2017 and 2019. “As many as 314 ponds and more than 43,000 wells in the area were cleaned as part of the initiative.

Source: Indian Express July 18, 2024 06:08 UTC