Bhopal:Thursday, April 10, 2008:A villager of Shahdol district has donated his land for digging up of a water reservoir under Jalabhishek Abhiyan. The 60-year-old villager Shri Mahesh Prasad Mishra has taken this step as he was moved by the difficulties faced by the villagers. Earlier also, he has donated his land for construction of Panchayat Bhawan and other works.Jalabhishek Abhiyan has met with so much success in Shahdol district that it has started to take the shape of a public movement. Residents of village Baruka were facing water crisis for the last many years. It was a difficult proposition to construct a water structure in the village due to lack of a proper place. At this juncture, Shri Mahesh Prasad Sharma came forward, felt the agony of villagers and lost no time in donating his two acre land for digging the water reservoir. Shri Mishra’s philanthropist act reminds one of Bhoodan Yagya of Vinoba Bhave.
Speciality of launching of Jalabhishek Abhiyan in village Baruka was that without any fanfare or staging of any function thousands of people reached the site of water reservoir’s construction. All these people were eager to put in Shramdan (labour without any charge). Thereafter, a coconut was broken as an auspicious token and simultaneously thousands of people picked up pick-axes, spades and Tagadis and within no time the water reservoir started taking its shape.
The district-level Jalabhishek Abhiyan was launched at village Baruka with the start of water reservoir at a cost of Rs four lakh 99 thousand. Construction of this water reservoir would not only lead to rise in water level in Baruka village but the Nistar facility would also be increased. The water reservoir would also irrigate 16 hectare area.