Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Swami Vivekananda once said, “Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached”.
The tribal farmers of Kesali assembly constituency in Sagar district have brought his saying to life as they turned 300 acres of barren land into a fertile stretch with their hard work.
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has praised the tribal farmers for their consistent battle uphill and said it was a step forward in direction of making farmers self-reliant.
Sagar district collector Deepak Singh said it was not easy to convert a barren plot of land into a fertile one. Farmers did not have enough funds or resources to do so.
The farmers, therefore, sought help from the government under welfare schemes. They were provided funds under Kapil Dhara scheme of Mandya Pradesh government to get water for irrigating the land. In addition, the tribal farmers were given plough and tractor to level the land.
Sagar district panchayat chief executive officer Ichhit Gadhpale said when tribals were given the plot, it was good for nothing. But they made it productive and turned it into a sustainable piece of land. The department of agriculture gave them seeds to sow in their newly made fertile land.
Another village Maromadho had 250 acres of barren land was also turned into a fertile stretch by tribals there in a similar way. Gadhpale said 138 farmers worked day and night to earn livelihood from their plots. Only 20% of the work is being done by the machines because of huge boulders blocking the way.
A local tribal farmer said they did not have their own land nor they had any source of income. “Convertible a barren land into fertile one was a difficult task but one does everything in their might to sustain,” he added.
