From being an address for distress migration of labour and prevalence of drought-prone areas throughout the year, the reorganised Mahabubnagar district has undergone a sea change over the last seven years, thanks to the improved groundwater table, irrigation potential and, livelihoods linked to agriculture and allied activities.
Water harvesting works such as construction of farm ponds, percolation tanks and check dams taken up under the Jal Shakti Abhiyan, silt removal, improvement of feeders and bund strengthening of minor irrigation tanks taken up under the Mission Kakatiya programme and improved irrigation facilities have all helped bring up the groundwater table.
From the average of 17.55 metres below ground level in May 2016, months before reorganisation of the district in October that year, the groundwater table has come up to 6.38 metres in August this year, after the second reorganisation of the district in February 2019. In May this year, the average depth of groundwater availability was 10 metres below ground level.
According to district officials, there is no drinking water scarcity now with the help of Mission Bhagiratha scheme and it has also shed the tag of having dark areas, where groundwater table is below 20 metres of ground level. “Till 2014, there were at least six mandals — Midjil, Rajapur, C.C.Kunta, Hanwada, Jadcherla and Mahabubnagar which fall in the present Mahabubnagar district (the combined Mahabubnagar was first reorganised in October 2016 and again in February 2019),” the official explained.
During the 2014-21 period, a total of 342 check dams, 338 percolation tanks and 656 water harvesting structures have been constructed under various schemes including Jal Shakti Abhiyan in the district (the present Mahabubnagar areas). Besides, removal of silt, strengthening of the bunds and improving feeder channel has also been taken up in about 450 minor irrigation tanks to improve their water-holding capacity.
Linking of most of those MI tanks to canals of major irrigation projects has also helped replenishment of water in the tanks for the two crop seasons every year. “All such measures have helped bring up the groundwater table with no dark areas. In fact, the groundwater is available in the 5-10 metres below ground level range now in mandals such as Bhoothpur, Koilkonda, Mohammadabad and Nawabpet,” the official explained.
One indication of improved groundwater table is cultivation of paddy. It was taken up on 1,14,232 acres in 202-21 kharif and 1,21,031 on acres in 2020-21 rabi. This kharif, it is cultivated on 1,72,518 acres with production estimated at 4.33 lakh tonnes of paddy, the official said.
“From the past of labour from Mahabubnagar going on distress migration every year, now labour from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha are coming to the district for livelihood in agriculture and allied work,” District Collector S. Venkata Rao said summing up the change.
