Did You Know...

. . . that the Nagarjunasagar Dam in India has transformed the economic landscape of the region? Fifty years ago, before the project was built, much of the area was a wasteland. Drought was an annual visitation. All agriculture was rainfed and farmers scratched about to get a marginal yield of jowar, ragi or bajra. Now those same lands are commanding high prices to eager buyers.

The project changed cropping patterns. With water available, farmers adopted rice cultivation on a mass scale. This brought food security to the region and from that platform, the farmers launched off to cash crops such as cotton. Family incomes multiplied in a matter of a few years. After the arrival of cotton, farmers started making profits of Rs 20,000-30,000 per crop. Then came tobacco, which turned some farmers into millionaires. The paddy bounty led to the establishment of hundreds of rice mills in the coastal districts, and fodder availability led to the growth of the dairy industry.

The project even changed the diet of the local people. Before Nagarjunasagar, rice was not the staple food of the area. It was consumed on special occasions such as festivals and marriages.

One of the most visible aspects of change wrought by Nagarjunasagar is in education. The project brought schools to villages and towns that previously had few or no schools.

Source: Times of India, December 11, 2005

(reprinted from the USSD Newsletter, November 2007, page 3)