Latabari - A success story

Jalpaiguri district experienced devastating floods in the year 1993. "Latabari" a tiny tribal village under Uttar Latabari GP, Kalchini Panchayet Samiti was washed away and large tracts of agricultural land remained under floodwater for several months. The resultant effect was not only that field boundaries of the farmers' lands got abolished but also the entire agricultural land was covered with 2-3 feet thick deposition of sand. Land value thus decreased, irrigation channel choked, practically no cultivation was possible with gullies/ditches formed here and there. The farmers had no option but to migrate to other areas as landless agricultural labours. The effort of the Soil Conservation Department to restore the land into its cultivable condition was fraught with serious gaps. Farmers therefore became poorer and poorer. Under the RSVY, a project for reclamation of this sand laden with casia grass tracts was taken up. The entire agricultural land measuring about 170 hec. has been made free from sand and stones, ditches and gullies closed properly and silted up irrigation channels re-excavated under the project. The field boundaries have been re-demarcated and agricultural land was handed over to the original farmers. Moreover, Community Dug well cum Pump set units including a Water Harvesting Structure has been provided to the farmers for sustained irrigation. The farmers are now able to successfully raise and harvest food crops since then.