Avhati turns an oasis in parched Satana

Nashik: Years of concerted efforts to increase the green cover in Avhati village in Satana taluka have paid off this year. Amid severe scarcity in the area, the once-barren village has sufficient water in its wells and has become a source of supply for the panchayat samiti.
The village had just two wells till 1992, one was reserved for public use while the other was used for the animals.The water would be conserved and used only for drinking purposes and not a drop was used for agriculture. The village would run out of water by January and villagers would migrate for work.
But their lives changed after the forest department made them aware about conservation and the joint forest management committee (JFMC) was formed. The work through JFMC paid off and they are reaping the fruits of extensive tree plantation, particularly on the mountain slopes that arrested water.
The forest department planted trees in 50 hectares in the area in 1991, much before the government resolution regarding JFMC was issued on March 16, 1992. Gradually, villagers started farming and cultivating fodder for cattle, which would otherwise graze outside the village throughout the day. Now, the entire area has 213 wells and the water table has increased.
Simple channel-like trenches were created on the slopes to water the plants near it. Though not much has been done since 2000, the village boasts of having water throughout the drought while 13 neighbouring villages have to travel distances for fetching water.
Out of the 13 villages in the area, Avhati is the only village where the scourge of drought has not been felt this year. While other villagers have to travel at least four kilometres for water, the well in Avhati has sufficient stock and they can wait for the rain in June.
"Water level has definitely gone down but we are not dependent on tankers or water from outside the village. We are in a far better position than the other villages and the entire region. The 13 neighbouring villages have to fetch water from four km away. All this has been possible only because we implemented all the JFMC activities," said Baburao Bhamre, 60, a villager.
Bhamre, fondly called Mothabhau Bhamre, said two water tankers of the panchayat samiti are filled with the water in their well and still there is sufficient stock for the village. The villagers have stopped farming since the past one month and are only collecting fodder for the cattle.
The saga of Avhati for conserving forests began long before the government's resolution for forming joint forest management committee (JFMC) in 1992. One of the first villages to have formed the JFMC in 1993 and also one of the leading villages in conservation work, the village received the prestigious Sant Tukaram Award at state-level in the 1990s, national-level award for ideal village in 2000 and also a district level award in the 1990s.
Bhamre recollects that everyone had 15-20 cows but they used to not milk. The villagers had to travel 1.5 km to Virgaon and purchase milk if they had guests visiting them.
Deputy conservator of forest of the area Suresh Darade said, "There is water in the wells. Soil and water conservation was possible due to plantation and conservation."
Box -
Total population – 1048
Total families in the village – 213
Total forest - 332 hectares of forest
National award in 2000
Work done –
Extensive plantation
Conservation of the plantations
Ban on axe
Ban on grazing animals in forests