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Environment
On the Footsteps of Kautilya!
by V.K. Joshi
Four decades
ago one rainy evening as I stood on the Mall at Simla at a point which
is the great divide between the Indus and the Ganges River systems,
watching rain drops join together to form rills which started to flow in
opposite directions towards the west (Indus River catchment) and east
(Ganges River catchment). To understand the phenomenon spread some water
on a plastic sheet and suddenly lift it up, water will flow in opposite
directions along the slopes thus formed. Likewise as the Himalayas rose
the divide was formed, a geological event that paved the way for the
future culture, politics and history of the sub-continent!
From the divide down the slope several rivulets and rivers arise, each
with its own catchment. If the catchment is disturbed by the
anthropogenic activities or natural causes, it upsets the discharge of
the rivulet and ultimately the river. A major disturbance can even
change a perennial river into a ghost stream.
A portion of the Indus catchment includes the states of Rajasthan and
Gujarat had to face the brunt of water shortage even before our
ancestors decided to settle there. The eastern slopes of U.P., Bihar and
West Bengal were fortunate with plenty of ground water.
But that was history. The land of plenty is besieged with polluted
ground water. Arsenic and Fluoride contamination is on the prowl and
millions have been affected in West Bengal. The threat of arsenic
poisoning has moved to Bihar and now even to U.P.
The government of West Bengal in all good faith punctured hundreds of
tube wells for its population, blissfully ignorant that nature had
played a prank with groundwater. It was discovered that this water
contains arsenic a highly toxic and poisonous element in quantities more
than prescribed by the Indian Bureau of Standards. There are rivers
flowing through this territory, no doubt but firstly they do not
traverse through each village and secondly we have left no stone
unturned to pollute the rivers and convert them into refuse carriers.
Water of which is barely potable. The hilly districts of West Bengal
face acute fresh water shortage despite a heavy rainfall.
The Institute of Environmental Studies and Wasteland Management set up
rainwater harvesting structures in Birbhum, Bankura and Purulia
districts. Forty harvesters have been in installed in schools in these
districts. Cost of these structures depending upon the size ranges from
Rs 40,000 to Rs 96,000. This area experiences a heavy rainfall (annual
average 1400mm), most of which is lost as run off.
Water collected from the roofs of these schools is collected into PVC
tanks after passing through filters. Overflow from the PVC tanks is
stored in cement concrete tanks. Water from the PVC tanks is used for
drinking and from the other tanks for sanitation etc.
Rainwater is one of the purest forms of water from the heavens. In the
area mentioned the total dissolved (TDS) content is only 40ppm (or 40
milligrammes per litre) as against the WHO's recommended level of 300 to
500ppm for drinking water.
The situation of quality of groundwater in West Bengal is pretty bad.
Large tracts of land in North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Midnapore
(East) and Howrah districts are facing the problem of acute salinity.
Arsenic toxicity is taking its toll in 78 blocks of Malda, Murshidabad,
Nadia, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and
Burdwan districts.
Rainwater harvesting appears to be the only way out in such areas.
Problem with rainwater harvesting is somewhat similar to people
switching over to CNG. Most people feel that fitting a conversion kit
for converting the engine from Diesel or Petrol to CNG for running their
vehicles is an extra burden. Likewise people believe water is freely
available and why should they invest money to install a rainwater
harvesting structure! It is time that a people's movement is started to
educate the masses about the necessity of water harvesting.
Right
motivation and involvement of masses can do wonders. In early sixties
while surveying parts of Alwar district in Rajasthan, I was walking
along a dry river bed. It was a ghastly scenario, dry, desolate and
above that the excruciating Sun made one wonder 'how people survive in
the small hamlets along the dry depression supposed to be a river called
Arvari!' Local people informed that this area used to be a dense forest
and the river was their lifeline. In 1930 the British hacked the forests
to make railway sleepers. Bald hill slopes were helpless; all rain that
fell upon them was washed down the slopes and lost. The river became a
dry stream bed.
Women had to trudge miles carrying water on pitchers precariously
balanced one over the other on their heads. The primary qualification
for a girl to be married in these villages was the strength to haul
water from long distances.
In 1987 a group of young men led under the banner of Tarun Bharat Sangh
(TBS) launched revival of Arvari River with the help of traditional
water harvesting system called 'Johads'. These are earthen check dams
that do not permit even a drop of water to go a waste as a run off. The
first Johad came up in the village Bhavta says Rajendra Singh, the water
man of Rajasthan. He is the prime mover for the TBS. With more than 300
Johads in Arvari catchment, the river came 'alive' in 1996 and started
flowing again.
Recently while listening to Rajendra Singh in a workshop on water
harvesting, I was amazed to see the photographs of water gushing through
Arvari and green hill slopes around. In just 15 years villages along the
Arvari which were destined to be doomed got a fresh lease of life and
are forging ahead with enthusiasm. Water has improved the economics of
the area immensely. People who were venturing out in search of jobs have
now become a job provider. For every Rs100 spent on a Johad return is Rs
400 says Rajendra Singh.
The best part of the story is that what ever has been achieved in Arvari
valley is solely due to people's participation.
Like Arvari another river Ruparel has been revived in Rajasthan by local
population with the help of some NGOs. Once again the Johads came to the
rescue of the people. In both Arvari and Ruparel resurrection a major
role was played by the women. In rural areas it is the womenfolk who
have to sweat and toil to provide water to their families. Thus
participation of women yields far better and quicker results.
People in Gujarat are also coming forward for rainwater harvesting.
Gandhigram a coastal village in Kutch district was facing acute drinking
water shortage and ingress of sea water in the aquifers. A bank offered
loan to the village development society and the villagers contributed
voluntary labor. A check dam was constructed on the nearby seasonal
river and micro-watershed development by making small water retention
structures on the slopes around. Outcome has been availability of
enough, fresh drinking water with facility to irrigate about 400
hectares of land.
Who says that our university students are always a rowdy lot? The
students of Bhavnagar University have showed the way that through their
combined efforts they can make dry tubewells flow again. They
volunteered to dig a huge percolation tank in their campus. In a year's
time all the tubewells in the University and neighboring areas came
alive once again.
Each terrain has its own problems. Central India where huge tracts of
land are covered by Deccan Traps, water harvesting becomes an uncertain
gamble. The fractures, joints and shears in the basement rocks divert
the harvested water to unfathomable depths. In Akole Taluk mostly
populated by tribal in Central India, combining ancient beliefs and
latest scientific techniques a round the year water availability has
been achieved with the help of International Development Research Centre
(IDRC), BAIF Development Foundation, Pune and Department of Earth
Sciences University of Windsor, Ontario. As per the ancient belief it
was found that presence of a Fig tree indicates water near by.
Hydrogeological studies and bedrock fracture analysis confirmed that the
ancient belief was not a mere figment of imagination. These trees grow
where bedrock retains maximum water. Soon rainwater harvesting
structures came up and now the area boasts of greenery and plenty of
drinking water.
In all such areas where people of their own or through the motivation of
individuals/NGOs or other agencies have achieved success, the respective
governments would have only at best provided a temporary relief through
water tankers or would have made announcements of mega-projects which
seldom see the light of the day.
Media has a very vital role to play in highlighting these success
stories. Gory pictures of cracked up land and skeletons of dead animals
are highlighted by all, but the news of rivers, wells or tube-wells
resurrected or return of greenery is at best given an obscure corner by
the print media. Audio-visual media also gives a step-motherly treatment
to such achievements.
It is time that the government follows the footsteps of Kautilya, the
famous economist of the days gone by, who had advocated tax concessions
in his treatise 'Arthshastra' to those practicing rainwater harvesting.
He was perhaps one of the greatest visionaries!
July 30, 2006
Image of Arvari – the
river resurrected by courtesy of
rainwaterharvesting.org
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