Selu Panchayat Samiti builds four recharge pits through shramdan to send 16 lakh litres underground

With groundwater levels falling day by day and water scarcity growing, Selu Panchayat Samiti has taken a step that is good for the environment and sets an example for others.

Under the ambitious Jalatara project of Guardian Minister Meghna Sakore-Bordikar, four recharge pits have been built on the Panchayat Samiti premises through shramdan (voluntary labour). Each pit measures 170 cubic feet. It is said that, in a single monsoon, the four pits together will let around 16 lakh litres of rainwater seep into the ground and recharge groundwater.

The aim is clear: to stop every drop of rain from going to waste, to channel it into the ground, to raise the groundwater level and to tackle the scarcity ahead.

There was also a local problem behind the effort. The premises of the Central Primary School are extensive, so large amounts of water collected there during the rains and the ground stayed muddy for months. Block Development Officer Uday Jadhav took the initiative to solve this. He took the officials and employees along and transformed the premises.

Notably, no machine or contractor was used for the work. Jadhav and all the officials and employees came forward themselves and did the shramdan.

Extension Officers Prabhakar Shinde, Sandeep Pawar and Amol Matkar, Agriculture Extension Officer Jayshree Bhosale and Junior Assistant Jeevan Kharawane took part in the work. Nitin Lokhande, Narayan Gadekar, Pratik Chavan, Dattatraya Mhaske, Pravin Chandan, Datta Kale, Narayan Kale, Dattatraya Padghan, R. D. Kale, Vikram Khillare, Denge, Sachin Nagar and others also joined in.

Selu Panchayat Samiti has set an example before the whole district that water conservation can be taken to a larger scale if such measures are adopted on the premises of government offices. The initiative is being praised at every level.