Evaluation of Integrated Watershed Management for Flood Control in Ajoy and Rupnarayan River Catchments

Abstract

Watershed management works carried out in the upper catchment of the flood prone rivers of Ajoy and Rupnarayan was too meager to show any effect on flood discharge. Small watershed data collected by a handful of gauging stations was neither regular nor consistent for drawing any firm conclusions on flood moderation. However, in the small sample watersheds, where most of the problem area was treated through land levelling and bench terracing; agriculture benefitted by increased cropping intensity, introduction of new crop during Rabi, higher yields and better returns to the farmer with IRR ranging from 40 to 50 per cent. Ground water recharge and seepage below small storage structures helped double paddy yields and also generated additional income through pisciculture in ponds. Alarming rate of destruction of forest plantations helped evolve people-led afforestation models around Arabari and other areas located in the catchments. The study points to the need for making watershed management an integral part of people's priorities, integration of various schemes in the watershed, for regular data collection giving dependable time series alongwith relevant watershed attributes.