With major rivers in Orissa flowing in the west-east direction, most of the rain water goes directly to the sea whereas there is a huge water scarcity at the upstream. On the other hand, with 40 per cent pore space in the soil we can help it absorb the runoff water by delaying the drainage process through adoption of various rain water harvesting techniques so that the ground water table can also be maintained properly, said soil scientist and Chairman of Western Orissa Development Council (WODC), Prof. Niranjan Panda.

Mentioning the plights of the farmers of western Orissa districts in particular, the expert on the sidelines of the ongoing international symposium on use of potassium at OUAT said, the rainwater harvesting mechanism can contribute more for western Orissa farmers than the Hirakud reservoir.

Calling for village-based planning for water harvesting, Prof. Panda said while the activities will help in generating more employment opportunity for the people, the village committees can also decide the cropping pattern and farming procedures according to availability of water and other farm inputs.

Saying that a WODC-sponsored water harvesting station is already on job at Pua village under Tarabha block of Sonepur district, he informed that three others i.e. Bharsuja village under Agalpur block of Balangir district, Badmal village under Jujumara block of Sambalpur district and a village in Deogarh district are in the pipeline.

The western Orissa model can also be replicated in other parts of the State so that we can have sufficient ground water for use through lift irrigation points as an irrigation potential, he added.

Overuse of ground water in Haryana and Punjab is now seen as a curse as the region is at serious loss on ground water table. But with timely intervention Orissa can go for rain water harvesting in such a way that the water is used for farming and the ground water is maintained, he added.