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WASMO has initiated a project in a cluster of 100 villages - 45 in Kaprada and 30 in Dharampur talukas of Valsad and 25 in Vansda taluka of Navsari districts to address the drinking water and sanitation issues.
The tribal belt of Gujarat includes 43 talukas, in 11 districts of Gujarat, namely Panchmahals, Dahod, Dangs, Bharuch, Banaskantha, Narmada, Navsari, Surat, Sabarkantha, Valsad, and Vadodara. Of these the Dharampur and Kaprada talukas of Valsad and Vansda taluka of Navsari have over 90 per cent of tribal population and are extremely backward considering indicators like agriculture, irrigation, education, etc.
The area receives heavy rainfall. But the hilly terrain and steep slopes adversely affect the ground water recharge and the surface water is lost due to rapid run off. There is therefore a problem of drinking water as the development of ground water sources is hardly possible except for shallow bores with hand pumps.
The tribal population largely depends on hand pumps for their daily needs of drinking water. These hand pumps often go dry and the tribals have to move from pillar to post to find potable water. Migration to areas where adequate facilities for drinking water and employment are available is also very common.
Dhruva (a unit of BAIF) and Jashoda Narottam Public Charitable Trust (JNPCT) are the Implementation Support Agencies for the project. In consultation with the ISAs, the villages, which are inaccessible and in the hinterland of these talukas, have been selected in clusters. 76 villages have been allotted to Dhruva and 24 to JNPCT considering their area of work and presence in identified villages.
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