Khed villages set to survive summers with three tanks dug in rocks

Some villages in the hilly part of Khed taluka like  Handewadi and Ghotwandi  are situated quite far from the dams. Here, in summers, women have to walk several kilometres to fetch water in the scorching sun. Therefore, when Pune based Jankidevi Bajaj Gram Vikas Sanstha (JBGVS) decided to dig out three water tanks in rocks, it came as a huge relief for the villagers. Each tank is 12-metre wide, 12-metre long and five-meter deep and has a  capacity of 0.72 TCM (Thousand Cubic Metres), out of which only 20 per cent water is lost due to evaporation. Two of the tanks were constructed in March last year and even now; it contains 50 percent of the water accumulated during the rains. The construction of an additional tank was completed one month ago. Col Vinod Deshmukh (Retd.), director, JBGVS  said that the Deccan faces severe scarcity of water during summer. They took inspiration from the water tanks seen on several hill forts since the era of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and decided to dig such tanks in the Khed taluka for the benefit of its villagers.  As the Deccan plateau is embedded with volcanic basalt rock with little porosity and soft rocks are found only in a few places, villagers were consulted to decide on the location of the tanks. Villagers unanimously took the decision to abstain from washing clothes, utensils or cattle near the tanks so that the water tanks don't get contaminated.