CHENNAI, Tamil Nadu, India--About 1121 Indian farmers from the Tiruvannamalai district, Tamil Nadu state, India, got new farm ponds, built by workers covered under MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme); the 1121 farm ponds were built in 30 days, setting the world record for the Most farm ponds built in 30 days, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.

Tiruvannamalai District Collector Thiru. B. Murugesh, I.A.S.,said that the aim behind the initiative was to ensure adequate water for drinking and agricultural purposes during the summer and hence a brainstorming session was conducted for officials and farmers, which led to the idea of creating farm ponds, the D T Next reports.

 “It costs Rs 1.78 lakh (U$D 2,413.00) to create one farm pond of 72 feet long, 36 feet wide and 5 feet deep,” Murugesh says, adding, “as each pond can hold 3.64 lakh (86,245.00) litres, we soon found that the 1121 such water bodies set up on private farmlands in 541 specially selected village panchayats can hold 40.69 crore (96,412,798.00) litres, which will be more than enough to recharge local wells and also assure water for cultivation in summer.”