About the most precious commodity in the future is likely to be water. To the people of Thar region of Rajasthan in north India water has always been precious. Perhaps only those who hail from water-scarce lands can empathize with the locals' extreme sensitivity towards water.
While the rest of the world can afford to pursue interests in stocks and gold, the women of this drought-prone, desert region walk 4 km everyday to bring home a potful (about 3 gallons) of water, because they became dependent on government handouts and other external sources.
This, sadly, in a land where, once upon a time, water management systems including rainwater harvesting and irrigation systems had been designed, constructed and maintained for several centuries.
The Jal Bhagirathi Foundation (JBF), along with Aqua Aero Water Systems and the Acumen Fund has made a welcome difference in the quality of life of these women. A community resource called Shiv Jal Dhara has been set up in Roopaji Raj Beri village that provides potable water to the entire local population of about 1000.
The 30-metre-wide, 9-metre-tall WaterPyramid uses solar panels under a patented technology and a very simple condensation process to purify state-supplied water of relatively higher TDS (total dissolved solids content of 10,000 ppm).
The structure supplies about 1000 litres per day, which will meet the needs of the community. Also in the rainy season, the exterior panels will help collect rainwater, which can be stored in a sufficiently large ground tank. This is just one of several similar initiatives taken by JBF, where the local community is given necessary help - to help itself meet its water needs, in as evident from their case studies.
The Shiv Jal Dhara effort is a wonderful example of non-corporatized water management. In the third world and elsewhere, water management has to be based on the principle ‘public resource for public good'. Initiatives such as this will help ward off a situation where the rich can continue to buy and waste this natural resource as they please, leaving the rest to fight for its use.
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Image Credit:
Hindu.com
