Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - HT Navi Mumbai Live
Konkan region to be water-rich again
RAJASTHAN MODEL India’s waterman launches community-based initiative to help preserve rain water
PANVEL: Water conservationist Rajendra Singh, known as the waterman of India, on Friday launched Jal Parikrama for Konkan region in Panvel, to help conserve water in the belt.
Singh has for the past 31 years transformed several arid areas in Rajasthan into waterrich areas through communitybased water resource management and construction of rain water storage tanks, check dams and other techniques.
Singh has taken up the community-based initiative in the Konkan region.
He has proposed a Konkan Jal Parikrama scheme to enrich the Konkan area with water through effort and participation of people at various levels.
Experts said the scheme could prove to be a boon for Konkan region.
Singh said, “We want to make Konkan region self-sufficient in water with the help of the people here. The objective is to provide enough water in the region and rid it of water scarcity that it regularly faces.”
He said that they have already planned to work on four rivers — Jagbudi, Arjuna, Kandhari and Janavli — where people have agreed to take up the project.
Singh said, “Konkan region gets almost 3,000 mm of rainfall every year, most of which ends up in the sea through the rivers while the people are left with little. This is happening due to lack of adequate planning. Our scheme will address the issue to ensure proper use of such water.”
Saying that Konkan at one time had the most water in the country, he added that it was losing water which is affecting agriculture.
“People have been leaving Konkan and going to cities. Konkan tourism, environment and nature with which people had a relationship are breaking. If we save every drop of rain water, the situation can change and the area will thrive again and be self-sufficient,” he said.
Singh said they had taken up similar drives in Rajasthan 31 years ago and succeeded. “We are sure people in Konkan too will support the drive. The Konkan people should realise that they need to come back to villages for health and peace and not lose themselves in the rat race in the city which is getting commercial by the day. In areas in which we have worked in Rajasthan, the people are now giving work to those from the cities.”