Express News Service
CHIKKAMAGALURU: When everyone was expecting a good and abundant rain this year, the torrent that followed was not what the people of Karnataka were prepared for. However, the worst of the monsoon seems to be behind us. But for a region that plays the tune of rain, Malnad is blessed with people who understand rainwater well.
Take the case of this innovator from Chikkamagaluru, who is using an indigenous approach to harvest rainwater and use it to replenish wells that run dry in summer. Michael Sadananda Baptist, Managing Director of the Rainwater Harvesting Research Center in Hadihalli, has found his own method of containing rain damage, which he has demonstrated at his Anuraga Farm near Adishaktinagar. Thanks to 'V-Wire Injection Well Technology', his farm suffered minimal damage despite the downpour.
Not much fun because of the rain
As its name suggests, Malnad is the "land of rain". The people here have lived with the rain for generations, adapting their lifestyle and diet to navigate the clouds. This year, however, they were not happy about the rainy season here as it wreaked havoc. While most farmers were concerned about the abundant and premature rainfall, coffee and areca planters are concerned about saving their mature crops. Even plains farmers are in a state of distress as their corn and ragi crops have fallen to the ground in flooded fields.
This is where Baptist sees things differently. While others perceive rainwater as destructive, for this innovator, it has opened the floodgates of opportunity to find efficient ways to harness this all-important resource.
How does the system work?
Its V-Wire well technology uses runoff rainwater to replenish drill holes. Baptist has built a 30/60 foot wide, 10 foot deep tank on his farm that collects rainwater. When the tank is filled to the brim, excess water flows along a channel into the V-wire injection well, which holds back well-used water during the summer, which sees water shortage.
The technology consists of a silt trap, a recharge pit (5-6 meters deep with 20% space for a filtration medium, composed of crushed stone, gravel, coarse sand and activated carbon. The rest of the space is to store water) and a recharge well (45-100 meters) at the bottom of the well. Rainwater is led through a channel to the first recharge sediment trap, which deposits the sediment in the chamber. The overflowing water is then fed into the injection well. Meanwhile, the brewer's tubing connected to a non-clogging V-wire screen passes through permeable strata and recharges groundwater.
Baptist says: "At a time when the rain is causing a lot of damage, in addition to the uncertainty of global warming, rainwater can be used as a source of natural livelihood even in summer, recharging wells."
This low-cost method has helped many farmers on the plains to collect rainwater, especially during droughts. This successful system is also being replicated in neighboring districts. Baptist told TNSE that many panchayats in different districts have also adopted the technology. "The Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panachayat has recommended the use of this technology at its limits," he says, reiterating the relevance of its wonder to monsoons.
Innovative student
Michael Sadananda Baptist, a resident of Adishaktinagar outside Chikkamagaluru, has a degree in engineering. Even during his college days, he had an inventor streak. He came up with technical ideas after partnering with the Kirloskar Solar Power Plant and the Jindal Group. During a period of water shortage in Adishaktinagar years ago, Baptist's father had advised him to find a solution. Then he had the chance to collect rainwater to recharge wells. In the future, he opened a rainwater harvesting research center in Hadihalli, which is helping farmers today.
The abundant rain has exasperated farmers and others this year. An innovator from Chikkamagaluru is using homegrown technology to harvest nature's bounty and replenish wells to cope with water shortages.
