ALLAHABAD: Dead ancient ponds in more than a dozen villages including Sonvarsa , Juhi and Ramgarh are now filled with rainwater in the the hilly terrain of Shankargarh , thanks to the shram-daan (voluntary service) of the villagers who worked tirelessly to achieve this result under the banner of Jal Jan Vikas Abhiyan.Bakulahi River Rejuvenation Campaign convenor Samaj Shekhar told TOI that more than two dozen big ponds in Sonvarsa, Juhi, Chanaura, Bal Kushun, Derva, Gaura, etc in Allahabad and Pratapgarh districts are filled with rainwater. He added that with the help of local administration, villagers had been working on restoration of ancient ponds and their efforts have now yielded positive results.Sonvarsa village pradhan M P Singh said once the ponds are filled with rainwater, it would help increase the groundwater level. "We sought help from volunteers of the Bakulahi River Rejuvenation Campaign (BRRC) to spot ancient ponds in the hills of Shankargarh," said Juhi village pradhan Bimal Kumar, explaining how people united for the cause and sought administration's help to revive and use the ponds as reservoirs.Shekhar told TOI, "To overcome crisis of water during summer and for irrigation, villagers have made up their mind to restore all natural water resources in the region and first took up cleaning of ancient ponds in April, taking the help of local administration." Ancient pond near Ramgarh Dham, the main source of water for the villagers is filled.The work in the hilly terrain of Shankargarh started four months back and after a series of meetings and panchayat representatives on how to make the project successful. Meanwhile, said villagers, water level in some old wells in the area has gone up too. They are now taking the water conservation campaign door to door. Earlier, during monsoon, all the rainwater was absorbed by the jungles and hilly area which either fed the small seasonal river or went waste. But now that the old ponds are filled, the groundwater level is sure to increase.Allahabad chief development officer Samuel Paul said ponds are being maintained by local administration in each and every block to collect rain water which would help recharge groundwater during monsoon. He also said new ponds are being dug up in each of the 1,400 villages of the district under MNREGA to promote rainwater harvesting.

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