Dried up for years, Bundelkhand's Noon River sees revival

Once a vital artery of life in the Bundelkhand region, the Noon River, after long years of ecological neglect, is now on course of restoration to its previous untrammelled flow with the locals hunkering down to desilt it with spades.

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Originating from the Satah village in Koch development block, and meandering towards Agra, the river had long been written off as a vast stretch of waterlogged, unusable land.

“The Noon used to flow freely, fed by canal waters and natural springs,” recalls Satah village head Harikishore Patel. “But over time, the land around it was overfarmed and the water had nowhere to go. What we had instead of a river was a stagnant swamp.”

The Noon spans 87 kilometers and has experienced significant drying in a 40-kilometre stretch not far from its mouth.

The ecological collapse led to thousands of acres of farmland becoming submerged and infertile, while water for drinking and irrigation began to disappear, worsening the plight of those dependent on it.