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A NEW BEGINNING |
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| A rich
harvest |
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IN FOCUS |
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| On the
right track? Groundwater or poison? Punjab, ready for desi solutions Saga of tanks |
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CAMPAIGN |
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| Ways to
destroy Squatters or owners? VIPs strangling Dal Restoring Bis Hazari Lakes in News |
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WATER LITERACY |
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| For
water security The facilitator Let us try this out? Water carnival |
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INITIATIVE |
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| Sabdoo,
surging ahead Pioneering work Reasserting rights Haryana documents Mission possible |
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JAL BIRADARI |
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| Common
sense, makes sense Unflinching faith |
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| NEWS FROM GUJARAT | ||
| Jal
bachao yatra Checking salt ingress Water accounting |
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NEWS FROM CHENNAI |
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| Legally
armed Cultivating temple tanks Syndicate residency’s endeavour Optimising benefits |
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JAL YODHAS |
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| P K
Senapati Surinder Bansal Shree Padree Anil Rana M N Mitra |
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TECHNOLOGY |
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| Fog
collectors Techno tit bits |
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NEWS FROM ABROAD |
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| South Africa: Water apartheid Kenya: Drought busting Japan: Water wizards Turks & Caicos Islands: A unique system Nepal: Spouts return |
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| Vol. 4 | No. 6 |
December 2002-January 2003 |
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You can call him the Senapati (commander-in-chief) of the rainwater harvesting (RWH) campaign in Delhi. Trained by CSE during one of its training workshops for plumbers and masons (2002), he went on and executed more than ten RWHprojects in individual houses and institutions within five months. Technical designs were provided by CSE. He was deeply concerned about the city’s desperate water. He came to know about RWH and CSE through different newspaper reports. After understanding its potential, now he not only executes it but also convinces some of his skeptical clients for RWH. "I became a contractor (civil) to earn lots of money. That is the reason why I shifted from Orissa to Delhi. But now I am doing a little more than just earning and it makes me feel good", shared Senapati. Now, he plans to regularly advertise about his services in newspapers. This he believes will help those, who want to take up RWH, but do not know who to approach. Surinder Bansal Bansal is an unassuming businessman from Haryana, who is doing remarkable work for the people in Jamalpura. His life took a significant turn in 1995, when he read a review of Talab, a well known book written by Anupam Mishra. He not only read the book carefully but also met the author. "It was an inspiring encounter. And, I decided to spread awareness about this book and the issues it addresses. The response of the people was encouraging", he said. He has translated Talab in gurmukhi, so that more people can read it. "I never thought of joining or starting any organisation or group. I want to work with people on my own terms", he says. For past few years, in the months from June to September, he and a few other interested people plant new trees. Recently, he has also obtained approval from Shiromoni Gurduwara Prabandhan Committee to take up tree plantation on this vast tracts of land owned by this body. Shree Padre Vaninagar via Perla - 671552 Kerala; Tel : 0825 - 647234 E-mail : shreepadre@sancharnet.in Popularly known as the ‘rain man of Canara Coast’, Shree Padre has used his journalistic skills to create a strong farmer network throughout western Karnataka and north Kerala. It all started with ‘Adike Patrika’, a monthly newsletter. Launched in 1988, with a objective of giving farmers a voice. Several ‘writing workshops’ were also conducted for the interested farmers. He encouraged them to share their problems and solutions through the newsletter. Padre has also come up with the idea of ‘Samruddhi’, a group, giving voice to those farmers, who can neither read nor write. Once a month, the group organises a meet, where farmers just discuss various issues and then the dialogue is edited and published in the patrika. In 1995, Adike Patrika started a series on various ways people conserve water. "I constantly stumble upon a farmer or a householder who has devised a novel method. They are often simple but suited to the situation", says Padree. Recently, he has started sharing these stories with Catch Water as well, thus widening the network.  Anil RanaJanhit Foundation D - 80, Shastri Nagar, Meerut Tel: 0121 - 2769329 After teaching English at the University level for a decade, Anil Rana decided to work for environmental protection and towards safeguarding human rights in Meerut. With the support of some like minded people, he founded Janhit Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, in 1998. Presently, he is involved in generating people’s awareness for the conservation of traditional water harvesting structures. He was instrumental in motivating villagers of Kishoripura Manja, Meerut, to construct a pond - for which 12 villagers donated their lands. Things did not stop here. He has also inducted 500 activists as ‘Jal bhai and Jal behan’, who have vowed to work for water conservation. On the urban front, with CSE’s assistance, he first got the water quality of Meerut tested. And, then used these results, to sensitise urbanites including, builders, architects and schools to work together for a sustainable solution. Seminars and a quarterly newsletter, Janshayog are his main information dissemination tools.
 M N MitraFlat no.22, Temple View Apartments dr.vasudev nagar extension, Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai 600041 Though he has no formal training in engineering or in water management, MNMitra, has been doing pioneering rainwater harvesting (RWH) work in Chennai. He has completed more than 150 projects after starting Try (Trees, Rain and You) Charitable Trust in 1999. His employeers, the State Bank of Hyderabad, is promoting the works. It all started in 1997, when faced with severe drought Mitra decided to install RWH system in his apartment building. Undeterred by the response of other 25 apartments, he went ahead. Mitra not only did the entire initial planning himself but also paid for the implementation cost as well. Hard work paid off. Today, the complex is being able to meet its water needs. One unique feature of Try’s work that deserves particular attention is the use of baby wells. "If all the shop owners in the crowded area of Pondy Bazaar build one baby well so, that the problem of water logging could be solved", says Mitra. Further,if 100 storm drains cost over Rs 48 lakhs, 100 baby wells will just need Rs 8 lakhs - low on the cost as well. |
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P K Senapati