MALAPPURAM: In three years, the women-only groups in Maranchery panchayat in Malappuram district have completed construction and renovation of 60 ponds as part of water conservation projects and helped reduce water scarcity in certain areas of their panchayat. Apart from the ponds, the women have also dug up a well and constructed a 140-metre concrete road in their panchayat under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS).
The MNREGS project which began in Maranchery during 2012-13, successfully completed the renovation of 35 ponds and constructed 25 new ones, says the project’s accredited engineer Sreejith V.N. “Maranchery has areas like Kuruvanam island that suffers from acute water shortage,” Mr Sreejith said.
“There is a wrong concept that the women in the MNREGS can only do light jobs. But we wanted to prove that they can also do the same works that men do. So, we took up, first the renovation of ponds and later, digging up ponds and wells.”
In 2015-16 alone, the group constructed a concrete road, dug a well and renovated 17 ponds and dug 12 new ones. They say the water scarcity reduced to a great extent this summer, compared to earlier years. Apart from constructing ponds in private properties, the project has taken up ponds and a well in the public area also, he said.
