After enlivening Kathina, eco-activists now eye revival of Mandakini river
A Sitapur-based Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) — called Pathik — with 534 registered farmers has assumed the role of an eco-activist once again. This time, their mission is to revive the 19-km-long Mandakini river (not to be confused with the one in Uttarakhand), which has completely dried up. The river, which once originated from Arseni wetland in Wazirnagar village of Sitapur, used to traverse along the spiritual town of Naimisharanya and ultimately drain into the Gomti.
Pathik’s mission to rejuvenate Mandakini comes less than a year after this FPO was able to revive the local Kathina river, a 192-km long tributary of Gomti. Along with the support of the local administration, Pathik revived Kathina so well that villagers now row boats in it all throughout the year. Their feat was widely covered in local news outlets as well.
However, the success they achieved in their last project isn’t going to make the current task at hand any easier. “We understand that recharging the Mandakini river is a tall task. In fact, Mandakini is not even considered a river in official records anymore. It’s a drain according to tehsildars. Our first goal is to change its identity to a river again,” said Kamlesh Singh, a local farmer and member of the Pathik FPO.
The Mandakini river dried up completely about eight years ago according to villagers. Speaking on the reason behind the drying up of the river, Rajit Ram Verma, soil conservation officer, said, “Water-intensive crops like sugarcane, silt accumulation, and other such factors led to the loss of capillary water, which plants absorb. Moreover, there were no ridges to hold the water.”
In a bid to rejuvenate the river, a survey is being carried out in Sitapur by the FPO along with the officials of the soil conservation department and the village development authorities. “Our field survey, which began in mid-May, will conclude by June 15 or so. Based on survey report, we will chalk out ways to revive the river. The entire process may take about two or three years. Once the river is recharged, the groundwater level will also rise. It will also facilitate agriculture,” added Verma. Sitapur’s chief development officer Akshat Verma is also actively involved in the survey, which is being undertaken between 5 am and 9 am everyday since mid-May. After the survey is done, discussions on how to enliven the river will be held at block-level and then, at the zila-level. Subsequently, the CDO will take a call on the project designing and its budgeting. “In the first phase, we secured a remote sensing map through satellite imagery and superimposed it over the revenue department map. Through this, we were able to find what slopes are to be made in which fields to ensure that water from all sources flows in the river itself. Converging water to a single outlet is essential to maintain a perennial flow. Also, all nearby ponds are being revived under the MGNREGA Yojana,” said CDO Akshat Verma.
When asked about the budgeting of the entire project, the CDO said, “It will be hard to comment on the budgeting as different tasks are being looked after by different departments. We will have more clarity after the survey... We will continue to provide technical support to this farmer-led movement.”
Meanwhile, Pawan Singh Chauhan, MLC from Sitapur, who is also actively involved in the project, said, “This is a welcome people-led movement. Any movement that sees public participation is sure to be a success. Moreover, this river has a religious value as several seers used to meditate here. Besides, we all are aware of the mention of Naimisharanya in the Vedic literature. As for the budget, there is no lack of funds. The project is being carried out in a very cost-effective and efficient manner. We will get to see its results soon.”