Lalitpur, March 23:

A small-scale project, which aims at providing water at the local level for drinking and irrigation purposes, is showing a new sign of life in a village of Jharuwarasi, south of Lalitpur.

The Panchawati Micro-watershed at Panchawati of Jharuwarasi VDC in Lalitpur, being developed as a demonstration site for low cost land management through local participation and management, intends to benefit around 200 households in the locality.

“The area where cattle used to graze in the past is now not only used to protect landslides but also as a natural water reservoir, which will provide the villagers drinking water as well,” Satish Thapa, executive member of Green Field United Youth Club, the active partner for District Soil Conservation Office, Lalitpur (DSCO), said.

The project is in operation for one year now, but it has shown its impact with participation of the locals and technical and financial support of the DSCO, he said.

The slope area of 1.25 hectare pasture-land is now transformed into a watershed conservation area with 75 meter-long village trail, two check dams and jute netting to prevent landslide.

A 129-metre-long irrigation improvement canal is constructed to make way for rainwater and waste water from the dug-up well for the irrigation in cultivatable land.

The tree plantation in 0.2 hectare area has proved important in protectecting soil erosion and landslide especially from road construction on its northern side.

Ram Dayal Prasad Yadav, district soil conservation officer at DSCO said, the Panchawati Micro-watershed is selected to develop into a demonstration of low cost land management through local participation and management.

“The project was started by creating awareness in the locality on the benefits of proper water utilisation, soil conservation and preventive measures to check landslides.”

“The DSCO has allocated Rs 500,000 for the five-year project. The success of this project will be replicated in larger scale,” he said.