India may be heading for one of the world’s worst national water crises where according to findings of some studies more than 50% of the population has no access to safe drinking water and every year about 200,000 people perish as they have no access to potable water. India is said to have just 4% of the world’s fresh water, but is home to 18% of the global population. Along with its growing population and highly disproportionate and inefficient use of water in agriculture, the overall water availability is running dry. Water scarcity in India is expected to worsen as the overall population is expected to touch 1.6 billion by year 2050.
Catch the Rain: Where it falls, When it Falls
World Water Day celebrated on 22nd March, 2021, was a significant day for India when Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the rain” campaign with the theme “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls” to address the challenges of growing water crisis, which is increasing with the increasing pace of development in the country. Mr Modi said, “Water security and water management is crucial for the future of coming generations.” The campaign is driven by the National Water Mission, Ministry of Jal Shakti to activate the states and all stakeholders to create appropriate Rain Water Harvesting Structures (RWHS) and other water storage devices in accordance to the climatic conditions and sub-soil strata of the region, with active participation of people at the grassroots. The campaign aims at preparedness before the onset of monsoon to maximise the Catch of the rain drops!
In India, the dance of peacock, the national bird of India, with its iridescent plumage in full expanse is seen as a harbinger of rain quenching the parched earth after a prolonged spell of harsh summer. “Piku” the Peacock, , is appropriately the mascot of this “Catch the Rain” campaign
Strategies to Catch The Rain
Under this campaign, engaging people at the grassroots for successful implementation of the drive is a significant part of the strategic interventions. Construction of check dams, water harvesting pits, rooftop RWHS, de[1]silting of tanks to increase storage capacity, removal of obstructions in the channel feeding water into them from the catchment areas, repairs to step-wells and using defunct bore-wells and unused wells to replenish aquifers and removal of encroachments etc., for trapping rainwater to increase water catchment and storage, restoration of wetlands, rejuvenation of rivulets and rivers etc are among the many endeavours of the campaign along with awareness drives.
It was for the first time that a concerted national campaign was launched with collective participation of all stakeholders to reverse the peril of water scarcity. PM Modi observed that India’s development and self-reliance is dependent on water security and water availability, and emphasis has been made in making water governance a priority in its policies and decisions of the government for fulfilling the responsibility of the present generation towards the future generations.
At the launch, he drew the attention to several measures taken in the last 6 years to augment water reserve through national programmes such as Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojna, water to every farm - Har Khet ko Paani, ‘Per Drop More Crop’ campaign and Namami[1]Gange Mission, Har Ghar Pani-Jal Jeevan Mission, Atal Bhujal Yojana and formation of a Ministry of Jal Shakti to co-ordinate all activities related to water. Satisfied that the awareness about Jal Shakti Mission is increasing, he expressed happiness that villagers are trying to save rainwater and educating others to promote efficient use of water.
PIKU
Emphasising that water is more precious than money, PM Modi called for better management of rainwater that would help to replenish the depleted ground-water, significantly reduce the impact of losses during rainy seasons and increase the availability of water during summer, by saving more and more water when it rains. Therefore, it is imperative for campaigns like ‘Catch the Rain’ to be successful. PM Modi said that Aadiwasi people have always put their faith in water and treated it as an important part of their life, adding that if country learns this faith from our Aadiwasis, water problems in the country will be solved to a large extant.
Water Woes
At 130 crores people, India is the second largest population in the world after China. Every summer the serpentine queues of people - young, old and even children[1]awaiting their turn to fill their water pots is a common sight and is alarming too. In rural and remote areas, particularly, in regions with a swathe of parched lands, women and children are seen trudging miles each day to water bodies like streams and ponds to get water that barely suffices their daily need. The situation has impacted their health, affecting children’s education and making the larger community’s overall scenario very bleak.
Even though concerted efforts have been made in the past few decades in making drinking water available by the municipalities, the humongous population of the country has put immense stress on water resources where the rural areas find themselves side-lined. Added to it, the rapid urbanization stretching the available water resources is making the government grappling every summer to meet water need of the public. Findings suggest that over 21 % of India’s diseases are water borne which is aggravated by poor access of the population to basic sanitation. With water being tapped to its last drop, their sources stand exposed to pollutants, more so if the monsoon is scanty.
India is blessed with abundant rains during the monsoon, but are we using this rain water to replenish water sources, which we rampantly extract for agriculture, drinking water and industrial purposes? A large quantity of this water is not saved and flows into the sea. Basically, an agrarian country depending very much on ground water irrigation, replenishing of aquifers therefore is of utmost importance to raise the water table. Due to lack of a comprehensive water usage system plan, rural communities are compelled to tap groundwater by drilling more and more bore-wells, that too deeper and deeper. These menaces have now spread to urban areas as well.
Participation by Stakeholders
Under Catch the Rain initiative, District Collectors and Municipal Commissioners have been requested to open “Jal Shakti Kendras” that will have a dedicated mobile phone number and manned by an engineer or a person well-trained in RWHS and water related issues. These Jal Shakti Kendras will act as knowledge/ technical guidance centres to all stakeholders on how to Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls. Also, all water bodies in the districts shall be enumerated, (checked with revenue records) and encroachments to be removed. All Stakeholders having large tracts of land have been urged to take steps to “Catch the Rain”.
Efforts are being made to make as many rooftop RWHS on buildings, to maximize collection of rainwater falling in the ground within the premises to remain there itself so that no or only negligible water spills out from there.This method of water collection will help in improving soil moisture and raising ground water table, besides reducing water inundation in urban areas. Urban[1]flooding is now frequent occurrences, causing damages and putting residents to severe inconveniences.
The National Water Mission (NWM), Ministry of Jal Shakti in collaboration with Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports had earlier started the ‘Catch the Rain’ Awareness Generation drive through various IEC activities, which will included conducting education and motivational programs, mass awareness drives like wall writing, rallies etc. The emphasis is to make the youth, the future of our country, aware about the precious water and the need to conserve it by taking a lead in revival of Baoli’s, ponds, wells, rejuvenate water bodies, tree plantation, save nature and rely on traditional water saving methods through a comprehensive and integrated approach for water management. Over 2.04 crore people have so far taken part in this drive.
If the objective of the ‘Catch The Rain” campaign is achieved, it will be great boost for the government’s initiative to make Jal Andolan, a Jan Andolan
Tribals revive Bio-ecosystem using traditional wisdom
Setting a fine example, the simple tribals, comprising mostly of bhils, in Jhabua belt of Madhya Pradesh, solved their longstanding water grievances by resorting to the wisdom of the Halna tradition prevalent in their culture. Within 8-10 years, by adopting traditional water harvesting and conservation methods, hundreds of villages weretransformed into lush green regions. They reportedly made 90 ponds and innumerable other water sources, removed encroachment from catchment areas, installed protection device, desilted water bodies to increase capacity of water storage forrain water collection and preventing it from flowing away eroding top soil making it uncultivable. Many such stories of successful local initiatives to Catch The Rain have been showcased in the National Water Mission’s “ Water Talks” held every third Fridays of a month virtually and can be seen at http://nwm.gov.in/water-talk
