Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 28 (ANI/PRNewswire): India is a land of farmers, and most of these farmers are facing tough challenges while growing crops. It may either be lack of water supply for irrigation or waterlogging during heavy rains leading to crop spoilage. This has made survival challenging for them and led to many living in dire financial situations. The situation is impacting their health physically as well as their mental well-being. The Art of Living JalTara, an initiative under the direction of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of The Art of Living, is sure to change the fate of farmers and villagers of India with an ulterior motive of terminating existing drought and flood problems in Indian villages. The project follows a handholding process from mobilization of farmers to execution & follow-up, providing the farmers with a solution to recharge the groundwater, combating the water crisis.

The Art of Living JalTara has created a wave of positivity among farmers nationwide with its impact. Statistics based on the validation reports of selected villages. A total of 20,000 recharge structures have been built with a groundwater recharge amount of 1212 crore litres over 75,000 acres of land, with an average increase of 14 ft. in groundwater level. Continuous efforts of JalTara have seen a 42 per cent increase in the crop yield, and an 88 per cent increase in employment, with an increase of 120 per cent in the farmer's income. Moreover, there has been a 100 per cent decrease in water logging, preventing crop spoilage.

The hope of better days for rural India

JalTara, moving forward with a vision to improve groundwater levels, is an innovative and one of the leading water conservation ideas. A pivotal part of the project that adds to its success is the participation of farmers and villagers directly affected by its implementation. Be it the formation of recharge structures or educating the farmers about the benefits of planting more trees - JalTara has a clear vision. JalTara is making all possible efforts to reach out to farmers in good numbers to create maximum impact in the villages affected by it. Once the farmers become a part of the groundwater recharge process, the project holds long term promise for them. JalTara is actively contributing to their improved agriculture productivity & positively impacting their mental wellness.

JalTara makes an improved lifestyle for farmers

Waterlogging and droughts have been a significant issue in many villages in India, leading to deterioration of topsoil quality. Also, groundwater depletion due to insufficient recharge has decreased open wells' levels, leading to a lack of water availability for agriculture & domestic daily usage. JalTara, as a tool for water scarcity management, tries to solve all these problems through the development of recharge structures for every arable acre plot of land, which results in proper rainwater seepage and recharges the groundwater so that not only farmers get adequate water for agriculture throughout the year, but everyone in the village get enough water for their daily use in the nearby wells. After implementing the JalTara project, villages have seen the waterlogging issues decrease to zero. The process of tree plantation as an integral part of the JalTara structure ensures that there is no more soil erosion and that the land holds firm even during heavy rainfall. JalTara has resulted in doubled the farmer's income, so now farmers can take care of their children's education, eat healthy meals, build a house and pay off their loan/debts on time. Their worries regarding the necessities of life are long gone. Farmer's increase in income has resulted in improved livelihood & mental wellness.

A scalable answer to the to the groundwater crisis

JalTara clears all the bases in solving the problem of the water crisis in rural India. The methodology involves trained JalTara Sevaks mobilizing farmers from village to village, spreading awareness of the benefits and detailed planning and execution procedures regarding JalTara. Surveys of sites and execution measures are handled under the technical study & supervision of experts with detailed reports. Once the farmers agree upon building recharge structures on their farms, the JaTara sevaks team start the execution, with all the measures documented. Each recharge structure is followed up, recorded and geo-tagged by image, plot owner, location (GPS), digging date, water level tracking, and plantation of trees. After a successful initiation, JalTara has a long way to go. It targets 100,000 villages across India, aiming to build 50 million recharge structures in five years and recharge 15 trillion litres of water per year to emerge as the nation's solution for water crisis.

The Art of Living, a non-profit, educational and humanitarian organization founded in 1981 by the world-renowned humanitarian and spiritual leader - Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, through its social projects like The Art of Living JalTara, aims at reaching every corner of rural India and put an end to the looming water crisis.

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Name: Shamika Gandhi

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Mail ID: shamika.gandhi@projects.artofliving.org

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