VARANASI: Rajiv Gandhi South Campus of Banaras Hindu University at Barkachha in Mirzapur district has become self-reliant for its water needs.
“Nearly 2,700-acre campus has become self-reliant for its water needs, becoming probably the first and the only such campus in the country,” claimed the professor in-charge, Prof V K Mishra.
He said that Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh is one of the most drought prone parts of the state. Agro-ecologically the district has two major situations – Indo-Gangetic plain (30-40% area) and Vindhyan region. The Vindhyan region has meagre water resources and the land is mostly degraded. In such a scenario, operating a full-fledged university campus with thousands of students, teachers and employees residing, agricultural farms has its own unique set of challenges.
According to him, in Mirzapur, which has only 40% cultivable land with no assured irrigation facility, farmers have to remain content with specific dryland/rain fed crops. Erratic rainfall distribution, extensive erosion, soil degradation, nutrient depletion and submergence of cultivable areas are the challenges in agricultural activities face. The soil here is of lower depth, fertility and organic matter status, which limit its nutrient and water-holding capacity.
He said that the campus has a total of nine check dams, two run-off water collection ponds and three wells to store rainwater. Each of the check dams can hold water up to two lakh litres. The water from the check dams is used for irrigating agricultural fields. At present around 40 hectare of land is being cultivated using the water collected in the check dams. Different crops are grown in agriculture farms. The check dams are also used for fish farming.
Besides, there is one large farm pond having a water storage area 100m x 100m with an average depth of 3-4m and two run-off water collection bandhi. These bandhi and pond store water for a short period from July to December for irrigation.
He said that to meet the daily needs of drinking water for South Campus, surface water is pumped from Lower Khajuri dam in Barkachha. The dam is around 2.5 km from the campus for which the university has laid a pipeline. At the dam, the university has constructed a pumping station. About 12-13 lakh litres of water is being pumped which is then filtered and treated for drinking.
“Nearly 2,700-acre campus has become self-reliant for its water needs, becoming probably the first and the only such campus in the country,” claimed the professor in-charge, Prof V K Mishra.
He said that Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh is one of the most drought prone parts of the state. Agro-ecologically the district has two major situations – Indo-Gangetic plain (30-40% area) and Vindhyan region. The Vindhyan region has meagre water resources and the land is mostly degraded. In such a scenario, operating a full-fledged university campus with thousands of students, teachers and employees residing, agricultural farms has its own unique set of challenges.
According to him, in Mirzapur, which has only 40% cultivable land with no assured irrigation facility, farmers have to remain content with specific dryland/rain fed crops. Erratic rainfall distribution, extensive erosion, soil degradation, nutrient depletion and submergence of cultivable areas are the challenges in agricultural activities face. The soil here is of lower depth, fertility and organic matter status, which limit its nutrient and water-holding capacity.
He said that the campus has a total of nine check dams, two run-off water collection ponds and three wells to store rainwater. Each of the check dams can hold water up to two lakh litres. The water from the check dams is used for irrigating agricultural fields. At present around 40 hectare of land is being cultivated using the water collected in the check dams. Different crops are grown in agriculture farms. The check dams are also used for fish farming.
Besides, there is one large farm pond having a water storage area 100m x 100m with an average depth of 3-4m and two run-off water collection bandhi. These bandhi and pond store water for a short period from July to December for irrigation.
He said that to meet the daily needs of drinking water for South Campus, surface water is pumped from Lower Khajuri dam in Barkachha. The dam is around 2.5 km from the campus for which the university has laid a pipeline. At the dam, the university has constructed a pumping station. About 12-13 lakh litres of water is being pumped which is then filtered and treated for drinking.