Vadodara is excited as Navratri approaches, but concerns about wet weather have many garba organisers and revellers on edge. However, the Vadodara Navratri Festival (VNF) – CREDAI managers are feeling confident this year. They have implemented a simple yet innovative idea to ensure rain won’t dampen the festive spirit. With preparations in place, the festival is set to continue without interruption, regardless of the weather.
To ensure a smooth Navratri celebration, organisers have drilled 24 percolation wells around the Garba venue at Navlakhi Ground to prevent water accumulation. “All rainwater that collects on the ground will flow towards these wells on the periphery, allowing it to seep underground. This serves us in two ways: the venue drains quickly, and the underground water table gets recharged,” said Dilip Shah, trustee of the Art and Culture Foundation Vadodara, which organises the Vadodara Navratri Festival (VNF) each year.
The city has been experiencing extremely heavy rainfall for the past two months. When the weather forecast suggested that rain might coincide with Navratri, we began brainstorming ways to manage water and keep the venue dry. That’s when the idea of digging percolation wells emerged. The wells, located between the floodlight towers, have been securely covered to prevent any accidents, Shah added.
The wells were excavated over the past week and will continue to be maintained even after Navratri concludes. Following the rain on Sunday, many areas of the city experienced waterlogging for several hours; however, all the rainwater on the clay surface of this venue drained away within an hour, thanks to the percolation wells.
Nearly 40,000 enthusiasts dance to the garba tunes at this venue, which spans 30,000 square feet. The percolation well pit is topped with a perforated concrete slab and filled with gravel and sand to filter the rainwater before it seeps underground.
It’s an environmentally friendly approach to prevent waterlogging. All the rainwater at the Garba venue seeps underground, helping to recharge the water table below. Other garba organisers can adopt this model as well, said Shashi Shah of the Engineering Sewa Trust, which has been advising and assisting citizens in installing water harvesting systems at no cost.
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