August 16th, 2023 : The river Tamas, a tributary of the Ganges flows through Satna district in Madhya Pradesh where UltraTech Cement Limited’s integrated manufacturing unit, Maihar Cement Works is located. The river helps to keep surrounding villages fertile and provides water for agriculture. However, every summer the river dries up leading to depletion of groundwater and drying up of borewells in these villages. Acute scarcity of water takes a toll on agriculture and lives of the local people during summer.
Taking cognizance of the situation, our unit CSR team decided to construct a check dam on the river at the village, Sonwari situated in the vicinity of our unit to enable storage of water locally. The unit team facilitated a baseline survey that confirmed that the proposed dam would help increase the groundwater level in ten villages locally benefitting over 25,000 people villagers by providing a sustainable source of water for household and agricultural purposes.
Partnering with communities
With significant progress predicted by the survey, our unit team collaborated with the sarpanch of the local gram panchayat, the Satna District Administration team and the local rural communities, and provided resources, expertise, and materials to help construct the check dam. Over a period of two years a 4.7-metre-wide, 36-metre-long, and 3-metre-high check dam of a storage capacity of 48 lac gallon was built on the river at Sonwari.
On 20th July 2023 the check dam was inaugurated by Mr. Anurag Varma, the District Magistrate of Satna and Mr Ashutosh Gupta, the Superintendent of Police, Satna in presence of Mr Rahul Saighal, Unit Head, Maihar Cement Works, Mr. J.P. Singh, Sarpanch, Sonwari Gram Panchayat and the Sarpanchs of the nearby villages, Government officials and villagers.
Bringing Smiles
The use of the water stored by the check dam for irrigation and drinking by humans, livestock and wild animals throughout the year is particularly beneficial in areas facing erratic rainfall patterns and limited access to perennial sources of water. With year-long availability of water, local farmers will now be able to cultivate crops in multiple seasons with suitable irrigation. This will help boost agricultural productivity, food security and incomes of the farmers. The regular access to water can stimulate economic activities and production of the local industry which in turn can create more employment opportunities.
UltraTech undertakes its social initiatives under the aegis of The Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development with Mrs. Rajashree Birla as its Chairperson. UltraTech’s CSR focus areas are education, healthcare, sustainable livelihoods, community infrastructure and social causes. UltraTech reaches out to more than 1.6 million beneficiaries in over 507 villages in 16 states across India.
