India: Hilly villages trap runoff to tackle water scarcity amid plenty.
In the rainiest pocket of India’s Pune district in Maharashtra, some villages near the mountains have historically faced a dry reality by February as water simply slides off the steep hills.
Through communal labour, residents in the Velhe taluk (officially known as Rajgad) of Pune, are using stone structures and farm ponds to trap runoff, allowing them to look beyond rain-fed rice for a year-round income from fruits and vegetables.
While reliance on water tankers has decreased, the region’s agricultural water security is still available only to those who can afford to take risks.
