Karnataka: This Gadag school harvests 20,000 litres of rainwater every day

GADAG: A government high school in Gojanur village is harvesting more than 20,000 litres on its premises every day.
The school, which was bestowed the ‘Best Eco Club’ award by the Union ministry of environment and forests last year, is storing the harvested rain in two separate tanks – one of which has a capacity of 15,000 litres and the other 5,000 litres. Excess water is fed to the borewell to help recharge the local groundwater aquifers.
Ravi Benchalli, the school’s headmaster, told TOI that the tanks were built in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 academic years with funds granted by the taluk and gram panchayats. “Funds from various miscellaneous sources have helped maintain the entire water storage network at the school. We are ensuring that not a single drop of rainwater falling on the premises of our school is wasted. We receive good rain for three months each year, and the water is stored in the tanks. Owing to the Covid-19 crisis, students are not coming to the school, and we are diverting excess water to the hand borewell on our premises. The borewell would dry up in the summer but we are replenishing them using recharge pits and they now supply water throughout the year. We have used the harvested rainwater to grow the Panchavati Garden on 1.2 acres of our school’s ground,” Benchalli told TOI.
Former APMC chairman and Gojanur resident Shanmukhagouda P Patil said that the rainwater harvesting system at the school will serve as a very visible lesson for the younger generation of students. “Teachers and students have used the filter very effectively, installing at the tank using sand and coal. Water on the ground too is being used for drinking among other reasons,” he said.
Former gram panchayat president Shivanagouda Patil is very pleased with the success of the initiative. Among others, Rajiv Shetty Charitable Trust in Bengaluru has donated a computer laboratory to the institution. “The school is equipped with CCTV cameras, smart classrooms, a television set et al,” Shivanagouda Patil said.
In addition to the Union ministry’s honour, the school’s achievement has been recognised with several district and state awards.
No SDMC
Interestingly, the government high school at Gojanur has been functioning without a School Development and Monitoring Committee (SDMC), which is constituted for all state-run institutions for more than a decade. However, the lack of the panel has not hampered its operations or the efficient management of the school. “Since SDMCs have turned into a platform for political rehabilitation, the locals decided not to introduce politics to the functioning of the school. Parents can visit the school anytime and teachers are extremely cooperative to listen to suggestions on how the quality of education can be improved,” Shanmukhagouda Patil said.