Every month, 22-year-old Mitanjali Reli sets out on a familiar journey. As a Jal Bandhu from Bandabag village, she travels across 16 villages in Gopinathpur Panchayat, measuring water levels in springs, dug wells, chuans, and ponds. Armed with her hydrogeology and water management training, she meticulously records her findings, contributing to a growing database that helps communities safeguard their water sources. “Most communities welcome me when I visit them every month. They listen to me when I explain why I measure the water sources and why we need to conserve water. Water is becoming scarce. Due to over-extraction of groundwater, increased agriculture use, climate changes, and increase in population, has negatively impacted the groundwater levels we depend on.”

Mitanjali is part of a cadre of young water stewards, Jal Bandhus, trained to map and inventorise water sources in Kalahandi. Their work is crucial in developing a multi-year Sourceshed Development Action Plan, ensuring sustainable access to water for drinking, household use, and farming. By working alongside Village Development Committees (VDCs), these youth leaders empower communities with the knowledge and tools to manage their water resources.

In September 2024, Standard Chartered Bank partnered with Gram Vikas to implement the Water Secure Gram Panchayat Programme in five districts of Odisha – Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Ganjam, Gajapati and Nayagarh, aiming to reach 22,400 households in 28 Gram Panchayats.  

The project will support six Panchayats in Kalahandi district’s Thuamul Rampur block – Kaniguma, Gopalpur, Sindhipadar, Maligaon, Gopinathpur and Adri. 

In December 2024, during a village meeting in Tikarapada, in the Gopinathpur Panchayat of Kalahandi, residents identified two critical water sources—one for drinking and household use and another for irrigation. Sudan Majhi, a 32-year-old farmer and VDC President, voiced concerns about declining water discharge levels, particularly in summer. The community realised that without intervention, their ability to cultivate two crops yearly would dwindle, affecting their food security and livelihoods. This situation is not unique to Tikarapada but is a common challenge many villages in the region face.

To address the crisis, Gram Vikas collaborates with communities at the Gram Panchayat level to create source-specific Sourceshed Development Action Plan. These plans serve as blueprints for interventions that strengthen local water resources. But beyond planning, effective action requires community participation. By simplifying scientific knowledge and putting decision-making in the hands of the people, Gram Vikas ensures that villages take ownership of their water future.

During a follow-up meeting on January 2, 2025, Sudan and other VDC members deepened their understanding of groundwater dynamics. They learned how water levels in dug wells and springs decline due to negligence of catchment area of sources and extensive use and how land development in catchment areas can reverse the trend. Techniques like constructing Continuous Contour Trenches (CCTs), Staggered Contour Trenches (SCTs), and stone bunds help retain rainwater, allowing it to percolate into underground aquifers—natural reservoirs that store and release groundwater over time.

“If we don’t act now, our springs will dry up, and farming will become impossible,” Sudan warned. His words resonated with Akhil Sunani, a farmer and Maa Lankeshwari Farmer Producer Group member in Poiguda village, in the Sindhipadar Panchayat in Thuamul Rampur block of Kalahandi district. Previously, Akhil Sunani was unaware of measures one can take to rejuvenate water sources such as springs. Now, he sees the power of community-driven sourceshed management. Similarly, Sansuna Majhi, a 50-year-old farmer with two acres of farmland in Poiguda, championed the cause, convincing his neighbours to participate in reforestation and watershed work. His leadership and commitment inspired others to join the cause. “We must plant more trees and protect the ones we have,” he urged. “Trees help retain groundwater and prevent soil erosion. With our Panchayat’s support, we can restore our water sources.”

Encouraged by their new knowledge, villagers mobilised to demand support from their Panchayat. Together, VDC and Self-Help Group (SHG) members prepared a resource map detailing water sources—their names, locations, and conditions. This documentation became the foundation for securing funds and technical assistance for water source treatment.

Sudan Majhi, the VDC President of Tikarapada village in the Gopinathpur Panchayat organised a village meeting so that residents could begin filling up demand forms and map resources within the village to initiate the conservation efforts. He feels a sense of collective responsibility has taken root to make the village water secure. “Every household in the village supports conservation efforts, and all participate in digging trenches and plantation work. When we work together like this, we can bring back the streams and springs that once nourished our land.”

With each step, the villages in the Gopinathpur Panchayat move closer to securing their water future. By working together with the local communities, Gram Vikas ensures that communities do not just gain access to water, they gain the ability to manage and sustain it for generations to come.