{"id":150437,"date":"2026-04-08T22:12:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T16:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/?p=150437"},"modified":"2026-04-08T22:18:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T16:48:29","slug":"watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Accomplishment: Watershed initiative revives irrigation prospects in Kalahandi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"caps\"><em><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#cf2db7\" class=\"has-inline-color\">By Dr. Ramachandra Behera<\/mark><\/strong><\/em><br><em>Bhubaneswar, April 8:<\/em>A steady shift is taking place in the arid pockets of Odisha\u2019s Kalahandi district, where agriculture has traditionally depended on uncertain rainfall. A watershed development initiative has brought irrigation access to over 800 acres of farmland spanning 41 villages, benefiting more than 9,000 people and offering renewed hope to farming communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#08a2fb\" class=\"has-inline-color\">Carried out under Project Sangam by Vedanta Aluminium, the effort has centred on restoring water resources and creating infrastructure to conserve rainwater. According to officials, the construction of 61 water structures has enabled groundwater recharge of more than 11 lakh cubic metres, improving water availability for both cultivation and domestic use.<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-purple-color\">For decades, Kalahandi has grappled with drought-like conditions and limited irrigation coverage, particularly in its remote regions. The current intervention seeks to bridge this gap through a mix of scientific watershed techniques and active community participation. Activities include rejuvenating traditional water bodies, building check dams and percolation tanks, and capturing monsoon runoff more effectively.<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Early outcomes are visible in villages such as Balabhadrapur, where farmers are beginning to see tangible changes. Fields that once relied solely on rainfall are now irrigated more consistently, allowing cultivators to improve productivity and experiment with multiple crops. \u201cWe used to depend entirely on rains, which were never reliable. Now, with assured water supply, farming has become more stable,\u201d said local farmer Krushnacharan Mali.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Apart from enhancing irrigation, the initiative is also aiding in improving soil moisture and supporting gradual ecological recovery. The involvement of local communities in planning and maintaining the water assets has strengthened a sense of ownership, which experts believe is key to ensuring long-term impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking ahead, there are plans to extend irrigation coverage to more than 3,500 acres. If the momentum continues, such watershed-based interventions could significantly reduce migration pressures and bolster rural livelihoods in one of Odisha\u2019s most climate-sensitive districts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\"><strong>Photograph:<\/strong> A farmer in Balabhadrapur village of Kalahandi district irrigates his farmland using water made available through the integrated watershed initiative.<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Dr. Ramachandra BeheraBhubaneswar, April 8:A steady shift is taking place in the arid pockets of Odisha\u2019s Kalahandi district, where agriculture has traditionally depended on uncertain rainfall. A watershed development<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":150442,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-150437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-top-stories"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Watershed initiative revives irrigation prospects in Kalahandi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Watershed initiative revives irrigation prospects in Kalahandi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Watershed initiative revives irrigation prospects in Kalahandi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Watershed initiative revives irrigation prospects in Kalahandi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Indus Valley Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-08T16:42:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-08T16:48:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/irrigation.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"indadmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"indadmin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"indadmin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/229ac2ee13eea90327e2e7301c3ef206\"},\"headline\":\"Big Accomplishment: Watershed initiative revives irrigation prospects in Kalahandi\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-08T16:42:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-08T16:48:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":335,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/irrigation.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Breaking News\",\"Top Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\\\/\",\"name\":\"Watershed initiative revives irrigation prospects in Kalahandi\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/irrigation.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-08T16:42:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-08T16:48:29+00:00\",\"description\":\"Watershed initiative revives irrigation prospects in Kalahandi\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/irrigation.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/irrigation.jpeg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":450},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Big Accomplishment: Watershed initiative revives irrigation prospects in Kalahandi\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Indus Valley Times\",\"description\":\"Leading Newspaper of Odisha\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Indus Valley Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/07\\\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/07\\\/logo.png\",\"width\":440,\"height\":111,\"caption\":\"Indus Valley Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/229ac2ee13eea90327e2e7301c3ef206\",\"name\":\"indadmin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9b6f9b03321fc8effd1d678eb205a8c244bf8b1ceb3282aa64a44cda4666e3ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9b6f9b03321fc8effd1d678eb205a8c244bf8b1ceb3282aa64a44cda4666e3ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9b6f9b03321fc8effd1d678eb205a8c244bf8b1ceb3282aa64a44cda4666e3ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"indadmin\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indusvalleytimes.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/indadmin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Watershed initiative revives irrigation prospects in Kalahandi","description":"Watershed initiative revives irrigation prospects in Kalahandi","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Watershed initiative revives irrigation prospects in Kalahandi","og_description":"Watershed initiative revives irrigation prospects in Kalahandi","og_url":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\/","og_site_name":"Indus Valley Times","article_published_time":"2026-04-08T16:42:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-08T16:48:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":450,"url":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/irrigation.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"indadmin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"indadmin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\/"},"author":{"name":"indadmin","@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/229ac2ee13eea90327e2e7301c3ef206"},"headline":"Big Accomplishment: Watershed initiative revives irrigation prospects in Kalahandi","datePublished":"2026-04-08T16:42:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-08T16:48:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\/"},"wordCount":335,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/irrigation.jpeg","articleSection":["Breaking News","Top Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\/","url":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\/","name":"Watershed initiative revives irrigation prospects in Kalahandi","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/irrigation.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-04-08T16:42:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-08T16:48:29+00:00","description":"Watershed initiative revives irrigation prospects in Kalahandi","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/irrigation.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/irrigation.jpeg","width":800,"height":450},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/watershed-initiative-revives-irrigation-prospects-in-kalahandi\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Big Accomplishment: Watershed initiative revives irrigation prospects in Kalahandi"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/","name":"Indus Valley Times","description":"Leading Newspaper of Odisha","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Indus Valley Times","url":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/logo.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/logo.png","width":440,"height":111,"caption":"Indus Valley Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/229ac2ee13eea90327e2e7301c3ef206","name":"indadmin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9b6f9b03321fc8effd1d678eb205a8c244bf8b1ceb3282aa64a44cda4666e3ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9b6f9b03321fc8effd1d678eb205a8c244bf8b1ceb3282aa64a44cda4666e3ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9b6f9b03321fc8effd1d678eb205a8c244bf8b1ceb3282aa64a44cda4666e3ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"indadmin"},"url":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/author\/indadmin\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/irrigation.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150437"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150443,"href":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150437\/revisions\/150443"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indusvalleytimes.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}