Amravati: Fed up with waiting for government assistance, villagers in Chausala village of Anjangaon Surji taluka decided to take matters into their own hands. They raised funds through crowdfunding to build a much-needed access road and a water reservoir.
The Chausala region is known for its fruit orchards, especially oranges and custard apples. However, the poor condition of the road connecting Chausala to Turkhade made it difficult for farmers to transport their produce to the main market, resulting in lower prices.
To address this issue, village deputy sarpanch Mangesh Dhore and Harshad Kalmegh took the initiative to build the road and water reservoir through crowdfunding. A total of 109 farmers with land along the Chausala-Turkhade road contributed to the project, raising ₹4.37 lakhs.
With this money, they were able to construct a 3.5-kilometer road and create a reservoir in the Singmodi riverbed using excavated material. The reservoir has a capacity of 21 lakh liters of water. The total cost of the project was ₹4.20 lakhs, leaving a surplus of ₹22,000.
The new road has made a significant difference for farmers in the area. Orange growers have reported higher prices for their produce, and custard apple farmer Shyam Dakhane's earnings have increased from ₹20,000 to ₹1.41 lakhs in a single season.
Impressed by the villagers' initiative, District Magistrate Saurabh Katyar visited Chausala and praised their efforts. He assured them of the administration's support for such people-oriented projects.
"The materials used in the roadwork have been tested in a Pune laboratory. It has a freight capacity of 10 tonnes. The road was built keeping in mind all technical aspects. The Government's expenditure per kilometer for water reservoir is around 30 lakhs. We managed to build the 3-and-a-half km-long road in 4 lakhs and 20 thousand rupees."
- Mangesh Dhore, Deputy Sarpanch, Chausala