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Poverty
is a curse and to become poverty-stricken is utter
curse. I was poverty trapped and life inside me was
dying everyday – every moment. Though, I inherited
2.50 acres of land but it was wasteland. On the
contrary, while casting glance at neighbouring fields
I could feel a little bit of relief. They were worse
off than me. A nallah used to flow beside my field
during rainy season leaving all the water to go
waste." This was the story of Lambu Baiga from
village Hadaha in Hoshangabad district only a couple
of years back.
Narrating
further Lambu Baiga says "suddenly one sunny day
few officers from Watershed Mission visited my field.
They suggested to me that collective efforts could
bring drastic change in our lives. Immediately, I
formed a group of ten neighbour farmers and started to
construct a small dam on nallah under the supervision
of the watershed officers. Now there exists a dam of
as much as 20 feet high before our eyes in no time. We
could not believe that a dam with a length of 800 feet
was there in Hadaha village only at a cost of Rs. two
lakh 77 thousand. A single rainy season was enough to
fill the dam with water. Again watershed mission came
forward providing 20 thousand fish seeds to us.
Alongwith utilising water for irrigation purposes we
started pisciculture in dam too. Meanwhile, we formed
a self-help group following the advice of watershed
officers. We opened an account in bank which is
capable enough to cater our small money needs.
Watershed Mission helped a lot in making arrangements
for seeds for our fields and we decided to purchase a
diesel pump collectively. We irrigate our fields
through this pump turn by turn.
Last
year, irrigation from the dam resulted into production
of 85 quintals of wheat from 27 acres of land fetching
an income of Rs. 40 thousand and Rs. six thousand from
regular supply of pea beans to the market. Besides, we
received 450 kg of fish production during year
2003-04. The fish production for the year 2004-05 is
expected upto 800 kg as we have adopted the devices of
the Fisheries Department. An income of Rs. 24 thousand
is likely through fish production this year. Target
for the next year would be fixed at more than one
tonne. At present, wheat crop has been taken up on an
area of 25 acres of land alongwith fish farming.
Agriculture and pisciculture are going great guns.
Today,
prosperity is knocking at our doorstep we are no more
poverty stricken. We are highly grateful to Micro
Watershed Patasi Project Sohagpur-2 for bringing
happiness in our lives.
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