Rebirth of village pond at Mukimpur Sivara !

Mukimpur is a small village, with a population of 920 people in Jewar block of Gautam Buddh Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh. Being a responsible elder, Ramu Mal Kaka (age 55 years) was concerned, as the village was already in alert zone for predicted water crisis in near future. The 1.227 hectare village pond was almost dead, had gone vicious and village was losing its natural water security too because of ignorance, neglect and encroachments of the villagers.

He said with disappointment, "During my childhood, this was our favorite place to be at. Men, women, children all used this place for playing, chatting, and recreational activities. It also was full of diversed flora-fauna alongside."

HCL Foundation initiated the ‘Harit’ initiative to address the global issue of Water and Eco-culture conservation at a local level through rejuvenation of village ponds through expert PIA, AROH Foundation. Under the course of strategic actions, 14 ponds were identified, Pond Profiling was done, Encroachments were demolished, Soil and Water testing and Euphorbia removal were done.

This massive drive to increase water footprints and water augmentation, which was aligned to Jal Shakti Abhiyan has rejuvenated 6.44 Hectare/15 acres of Pond for increasing recharge for around 193230000 cubic mtrs of ground waters.

Exhilarated Ramu Mal Kaka says, "I feel I am reliving my childhood again. Scenario has changed, winds are blowing positively and now the village pond is being taken care of like a personal asset by everyone. From being a dumping yard of the village, the pond has turned into hangout place for us again. Policy, People and Participation are bringing in new change."