Drought Relief Program in Karnataka
Pavagada drought relief program is an initiative funded by Infosys foundation, voluntarily supported by the Samarpan team and executed by Swami Vivekananda Integrated Rural Health Centre which is a unit of Sri Ramakrishna Sevashrama.
Pavagada & Chalkere, a border taluk in the Tumakuru and Chitradurga districts have been continuously experiencing drought for decades. Villagers of Pavagada, have faced drought over 50 times in the last six decades. Every time drought hits the region, farmers are left to fend for themselves with little support from the government. During drought, the cattle also suffer and they are either left to die or sold at throwaway prices in nearby villages due to lack of fodder.
Since 2016, every summer, Infosys Samarpan volunteers visit Pavagada on weekends for almost 4 months (12-15 Weekends) to support this initiative by managing fodder distribution to more than 400 to 500 farmers, supplying drinking water of 40,000 liters to people in remote locations and rejuvenating ponds in forests. Over a period of 14 weekends the team also took up a project to save peacocks and other animals found in the forest area by regularly providing water and food grains. The project was very successful with nearly 1000 peacocks being saved and hundreds of langurs and other animals found protection under this project. On the eve of the World Environment day i.e. on 5th June 2019, “Project Green-belt to protect and save the forest” was officially launched in the presence of forest officials. This project is being supported by the Infosys Foundation with voluntary services being provided by the local community along with the Samarpan Team. The project is committed to not only planting trees but also to protecting them and managing the water supply required to sustain them.
