Farmer Adi Narayana continued to sink eight bore wells over a decade’s time to irrigate his farm, all of which failed. The undaunted septuagenarian decided to go for the ninth one in 2021, which yielded abundant water. He now grows paddy, betel leaves, jowar and tomato, in rotation.
The difference is not only the unrelenting farmer’s faith, but also the water management initiatives taken up over River Chitravati in the last six years. ‘Project Jaldhara’ taken up by S.M. Sehgal Foundation, in association with Coca Cola India Foundation, improved livelihoods of 6,750 beneficiaries in the belt of villages that are not only known to be perennially drought-prone in the undivided Anantapur district, but also were actually inching towards desertification.
