Tapping Spring water for irrigation in the Hilly Districts of Bengal

             

Springs are the lifeline for majority of the inhabitants
from Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts

 Springs or more commonly known as Dhara are the major source of water for domestic and irrigation purpose in the hilly districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong. A spring is a point at which water flows from the aquifer to the earth's surface. Springs can be either perennial i.e with continuous flow or seasonal. According to a report published by Central Ground Water Board in the year 2014, Irrigation practices in the higher hills are largely dependent on the springs or streams that is fed by the springs. Despite the fact that the hilly regions gets  adequate rainfall during the monsoon, most of the springs gets dried up due to factors such as high level of surface  runoff, ecological degradation and unsustainable land use management. The high level of surface run off hamper the ground water recharge leaving less water for the dry winter seasons. With the growing impact of burgeoning population as well as climate change, availability of ground water in the springs are getting scarce day by day.

             Agriculture in the hilly districts are mostly rainfed and a large part also is covered by springs. The declining trend in water discharge from these springs has been engulfing the farm economy since long thus triggering off mass migration of rural youths to other cities. 

A desiltation tank under the Surface Flow Minor Irrigation Scheme

WBADMI Project in this regard has undertaken Surface Flow Minor Irrigation Schemes(SFMIS) in the hilly districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong to arrest surface run off from the perennial springs by creating artificial reservoirs to make the water available for irrigation in the nearby agricultural fields. A total of 15 such schemes has been taken up and will be handed over to the Water User Associations for their operation and management. Furthermore, Project has undertaken another 30 schemes in the two districts to rejuvenate the dried up springs with the similar objective of catering the irrigation requirement in the agricultural field. As the construction of these structures are carried out, there are simultaneous process of capacity building programs among the beneficiaries for the adoption of on-farm practices improving water management at community level and also to create opportunity to improve their livelihoods, bring social stability and upscale the agriculture based economy for a prosperous future.