How Meghraj in Gujarat overcame Drought and Desertification through Soil and Water conservation?
Meghraj Taluka is a hilly region of northeastern Gujarat Province and is home to many indigenous people. Most of them are marginalized farmers, who depend on the annual monsoon for their agriculture production. In the recent times, the loss of vegetation in the area has vastly degraded their once fertile land, and water has become a rare commodity. Since 1999, the failure of the monsoon has adversely affected the soil; and the landscape became barren. To regenerate a place such as this one, ravines and ridges were treated by constructing gully plugs and digging out contour trenches. Earthen Check Dams with spillways on either side were built to allow the water overflow to run off without damaging the dams. Water ponds were also constructed to hold larger volumes of water. As the farmers witnessed the ill effects of water scarcity and soil erosion and its detrimental impact on agricultural production and yields, the concept of watershed management gained credence amongst the tribal farm
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