This post is a part of Neer, a collaborative project by DCB Bank and Chaaipani to bring out stories of individuals and initiatives that are working hard and smart to save water.
Today is World Water Day. The United Nations started the movement to observe the day of 22nd March every year to address and spread awareness about the global water crisis, and at the same time urge people to take action towards finding solutions. This year’s theme for World Water Day is Waste Water.
We have been finding and talking to people who have been working towards preserving and help people get safe potable water.
1. Vishwanath Srikantaiah
A water activist, a civil engineer, an urban planner, and columnist for The Hindu, he goes by the name of @Zenrainman on twitter.
“When I visited some of these villages, residents used to tell us they hadn’t taken a bath since 2-3 years! The little water they got was from an agricultural borewell far away from the village. They got as little as 20 litres a day, which included drinking and washing activities. On top of that, it was at their landlord’s discretion whether he was kind enough to give them this water.”
Read the full story here.
2. Mallika Arya
Mallika is a traveler, a teacher, an environmentalist, she uses environment-friendly travel mugs and even spoons to reduce her use of plastic. Mallika recently visited Antarctic to witness the effect of damage to the environment.
“There have been days when I just can’t help it. Our lives are so dependent on the use of plastic that, 9 out of 10 times you can find ways to avoid plastic but that one time you’ll just have to. However the use of plastic in my life has drastically gone down.”
Read the full story here.
3. Eklavya Prasad
The man behind the Megh Pyne Abhiyan! He started the campaign and educated people about the efficient and cheap way to implement rainwater harvesting to avert the water crisis.
“I decided to write a story about floods in Bihar for a magazine called the ‘Civil Society’. However, after writing the story I felt something was missing. I had visited the areas affected by the floods and the story had come out very well. But that was not enough. I made the decision to visit Bihar every 2 months and study the situation there. The diseases that were recurring and the problems faced due to floods had to be looked into.”
Read the full story here.
4. Retired Colonel Suresh Patil
He has served in the army in the Indo-Pak war of 1971. He was critically wounded and escaped death by a hair, and he decided to spend the rest of his life by serving the people.
“There are cascading benefits. The water holding capacity increases, we give most of the soil to the farmers and the rest of the soil is used to plant trees on the periphery of the lake which would attract the bird life. The place has become a tourist destination, where families come for picnics.”
Read the full story here.
5. Kushal Sonawane
A teacher, Kushal loves to travel thrifty and he decided to go around the districts of Maharashtra living only on a 35 rupees per day. He got to experience the drought in Maharashtra first hand.
“One evening, I was talking to a chaaiwaala that the government is sending water to help, but he told me no water reached there. Drought is the last thing they want to talk about. They have already suffered so much, that they have adapted to the situation of no food, no water.”
Read the full story here.
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