FARMER GIFTS LAND TO GOVERNMENT FOR CONSTRUCTING DAM
| Shivaram Bhat, Puthige village, Kasaragod |
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For those fighting prolonged legal battles for even 1 cent of land, the decision of Shivaram Bhat, a bank officer-turned farmer of Puthige village would appear strange. Bhat has donated 43 cents of land, including a water tunnel, to the Government to construct a dam funded by the UNICEF.
The 200m long ancient tunnel, called Odya Bolrodi in Tulu and Vellappadi in Malayalam, and the surrounding land were being used by the Bhats for generations. He could have used the land for farming, but he thought otherwise. “The water from the tunnel is now being used only by a few families. But if the runoff is prevented, it would benefit the entire village,” he says.
The dam, with a storage capacity of 3.5 million litres, is a multi-purpose project. The impounded water in the dam would help raise the water level in the surrounding wells of 300 families. Besides it has been established after tests that the water in the tunnel is fit for drinking purpose.
UNICEF officials have visited the tunnel and sanctioned Rs.20 lakhs for the project.
Courtesy: Kalathil Ramakrishnan, The New Indian Express, November 28, 2002
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