Chunni Kalan is a quintessential Punjabi village southwest of Mohali. This agrarian village with rich culture and heritage once was seat of sustainability. Local produce, limited use of nature and harmonious coexistence with all life forms. Just like any other corner of India, there was a traditional water practice-discipline, which over time vanished.
The erstwhile village pond, once the primary source of freshwater turned into a cesspool with changing times. Despite having piped water at home, the dying village pond was a concern for the residents of this agrarian belt. Several issues ranging from invasive vegetation, garbage-sewage, shallow lake bed, undefined lake boundary all had to be addressed. This needed a comprehensive plan cum execution, thus came into play the collaboration between the District administration of Fategarh Sahib, Godrej & boyce and E.F.I along with the Chunni Kalan villagers.
Efforts in reviving this pond included:
- Deweeding to remove any invasive vegetation from the water body
- Garbage removal and arrest
- Dewatering to remove contaminated water
- Desilting to deepen the water body and increase storage capacity
- Bund strengthening to enhance the structural integrity and hold the inflowing water
- Regulatory inflow weir to monitor and permit only surface water without any garbage
- Regulated inlet through below ground collection chamber and pipes to capture road runoff
- E.F.I’s ‘G’ shaped nesting island in the southern corner of the lake
- Two aerators to support the quality balance
- Percolation trench connected to a sedimentary pit and a recharge well
- Peripheral fencing to safeguard the lake boundary
With all the above efforts executed by E.F.I with support from Godrej & Boyce, the villagers took on the task of setting up a gym, children’s play area, brick lining of the bund and solar powered lights. Thus making this project a true collaborative conservation effort in safeguarding a village water body.
The once neglected, cesspool dump is today bouncing back to life with that water fowl, with that dragon fly and above all the water flapping against the wind. With increased storage capacity, regulated flow dynamics and having regained its tag a public property, Chunni Kalan Sagar is today community water body. E.F.I thanks the district administration, Godrej & Boyce and the villagers of Chunni Kalan for making this project a reality.
#TogetherTowardsTomorrow in conserving water bodies of Punjab.
