Every Drop To Drink

Launched in north Bihar, the campaign was an attempt to convince people to practice rainwater harvesting. A group initiative launched by four NGOs—Samta, Kosi Seva Sadan, Gramyasheel and the Gogardiha Prakhand Swarajya Vikas Sangh—it was brought together by Eklavya Prasad, who believes in natural resource management. He says "Till now, there has been no effort to equip villagers with skills for using local resources. Most of the intervention is concentrated on providing external conveniences to people. This has made them completely dependent on the state."

The Delhi-born Prasad first identified the fundamental problems in flood-prone north Bihar. The state-built embankments near rivers did little beyond providing an elevated area for people to shift to during floods. But with humans and livestock under the same roof and in the absence of proper health and sanitation facilities, villagers had to endure inhuman conditions three months a year. Access to safe drinking water has been an annual problem during monsoons.

According to Prasad, government agencies and ngos have been addressing the problem by providing water purification tablets and installing shallow handpumps on the embankment. But this was not a solution since the tablets did not reach everyone on time and often the pumps delivered impure water. As a result, people became vulnerable to water-borne diseases.

Thus was born the concept of rooftop rainwater harvesting to access safe drinking water during floods. The displaced on the embankments and other elevated zones stay in temporary shelters made of polythene sheets. These became tools to save water, says Prasad. The rainwater falling on the sheets are channelled and stored in a container. In its first phase, the Megh Pyne Abhiyan is targeting about 46,000 people.

Contact A-702, Abhyant, Plot No 2, Vasundhara Enclave, New Delhi-1100 96. E-mail: graminunatti@gmail.com