Muniguda: Constructing a well is no longer a costly proposition for the villagers of Sindhipanga in this block in Rayagada district as they now use bamboo rings instead of concrete ones.
A trust named Harsha is supplying low cost bamboo rings to the villagers. Sindhipanga is said to be the first place in Odisha where bamboo rings are being manufactured.
There is no river or pond in Sindhipanga with a population of 300 dependent on agriculture. There are only three wells here to supply water for farming as well as domestic needs.
The villagers do not have sufficient wells as the cost of constructing a well, anything between Rs 70,000 to Rs 80,000, is beyond their wherewithal.
But with the arrival of bamboo rings for constructing wells, the villagers hope their water problem can be solved.
The trust had been surfing Google to find a solution and they invented bamboo rings using the info they got.
Villagers Bhuban Dandasena, Arjun Dandasena, Parshuram Dandasena and Laxmi Raju said that bamboo rings are a great help in constructing wells.
Bhubaneswar Pradhan, a bamboo craftsman, said some dry bamboo pieces, a few 8 mm iron rods, a GI pipe and a little cement are the only things needed to make a bamboo ring with a diameter of eight feet and one-and a half feet to two feet high.
“After considering the depth of the well bamboo rings are set from the bottom first. The bamboos are treated with Neem oil to ensure longevity,” he adds.
“The idea was copied from a YouTube video and when tried it was found working. If one wants a bamboo ring well he needs to spend only Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000,” said Harsha Trust’s district coordinator Sarat Chandra Sahoo.
PNN