In fact, they have been building this temporary barrage for 30 years now.
Photo source: Facebook
Together, they build this embankment in a third village Balekallu, which is 56 km from Mangalore in Karnataka, across the Shiriya River. The river is 61-km long, originating from Karnataka and running through Badoor village at Kozhikode and Kumbla in Kerala. The barrage that gets built is 50-metres long and the man-power required to build this has been funded under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Made of plantain trunks, sandbags and other materials, this structure provides water during the dry seasons to help irrigate 300 acres of land on both sides of the state borders. The report also notes that the water is used to recharge the groundwater in the area as well.Also Read: In Kerala’s Gender-Neutral Football League, Men, Women and Transgenders Play Together
Since the barrage costs up to Rs 1.29 lakh every year, both villages are petitioning with their respective governments to build a permanent dam across the river so people living on both sides could use the water together, as they have always done. And just like that they set an example for the rest of the world, simply by being willing to share.