"WATER HARVESTORS OF RAJASTHAN"
Protecting an increasingly scarce resource
There are no substitutes for water, unlike any other resource. Fresh water resources are thinning rapidly today. In our times water is a resource without which imagining life would be immensely problematic. In the media these days- radio channels and newspapers in Delhi- there has been a rise in the advertisements that emphasize on the importance and need of harvesting water.
Owing to the presence of Aravallis, the state of Rajasthan falls in the rain-shadow area. The Thar Desert is one of the densely populated deserts among the world. The state is one of the driest regions in the country and the total surface water resources in the state in only about 1% of the total surface water of the country. The water resources are not just scarce but also highly uneven both in time and space. Groundwater also plays an important role especially in agriculture and drinking water supply. It was being over exploited and the water table in some areas has been going down at an alarming rate of 1 metre per year. Such a situation existed in four blocks of Alwar until 1985-86. In a place where the main source of livelihood ix forest based product, subsistence agriculture and live stock rearing, water becomes the key source of livelihood. Johad fitted well in accounting for optimum harvest of these sources. Over the years, these have been systematically destroyed at the altar of development. Industrial process initiated by the state and the government owing to the rich mineral and forest resourced in the region, resulted in leasing of the terrain for mining of quartz and pink marble. These were fed to the ever growing material industry of towns like Jaipur and Delhi. Excessive mining and large scale deforestation for timber resulted in severe land degradation which increased the frequency of floods and un natural droughts. Migration became the natural end result. The cycle of eco-degeneration had to be set in motion.
The semi arid landscape of Alwar in Rajasthan has undergone a major transformation in nearly the past two decades. Although rainfall averages at a scanty 620mm in a year, several wells in the area have been recharged to capacity. Hand pumps are back to life and water gushed out of them, several seasonal rivers have been converted into perennial source of water. The Government has neither pumped in money to bring the transformation nor have large scale engineering structures been built to turn the fortunes to Alwar around. Prompted by a well meaning voluntary organization and inspired by a tradition that was beginning to fade away, the people of eight blocks of Alwar have transformed their misfortunes by erecting water tanks in the district. Over 2500 Johads, dot the landscape of Alwar. In 1984, Tarun Bharat Sangh, TBS, a voluntary organization based in the village of Bhikampura of Alwar was struggling to gain roots in the impoverished villages of Alwar. In 1985-86, it was hit by the worst drought. Due to it, migration peaked. It was here that the organization and its workers spotted the neglect of a tradition. Working on Johads not only gave a sense of purpose but also a clue to address a wide range of issues including migration. They have transformed the ecology, agriculture, economics and a general well-being of the population in several villages of the district.
As a ecology student, my interests rest heavily on the water condition of India. Exposure to TBS and their work was not only enriching but also inspiring. When we reached at the location of our stay at night, the presence of a jungle around me and the simplistic set up of the place, both bringing us close to nature was extremely exciting. Our day at the place started with a drive down to a village where we saw anitcuts and johads. We also came across the traditional structure of a ‘baoli’ which was being used by the people at that time. We walked through towards another big johad and under the shade of a tree; Kanhaiya Lal jee explained to us the history of the johad in front of us and the issues they faced after it was built by the government. Opening a big map, on a piece of cloth, he helped us locate the different johads in the district built by TBS. Atop a hill, we found the small temple of the village deity. Following that, we visited the village where we saw the local school and met people of the Gram Sabha. It was a school with about 240 students and three teachers, only one of them present there at that moment, something straight out of P.Sainath’s writings on development policies in India. In the afternoon we interacted with the people at the ashram. It was significant to see and understand that the postman, the treasurer, the accountant etc double up as volunteers and work without any clear cut hierarchies. The people who worked there were locals who had made the change and mobilized the others to aid them, to aid themselves for their futures. The second day took us to a far away village around which the dead river ‘Arvari’ was revived. Although we could not see the river, we saw another important aspect of the activity. The johad of the village was claimed by another man, who claimed to have bought the place from a ex service man who had in turn received it from the Government. However, there were certain issues questioning this, as the area actually falls into a buffer zone of Sariska Reserve. The villagers were all together in a protest, a la Gandhian way, the practice followed by TBS workers. The methodology was simple-of placards and ‘nara-bazi’. The village elders gathered and told us about their issues and problems faced by them.
TBS works through the channel of people. They build structure like anicuts, check dams and johads to harvest water. The effort is to tap the rain water through these ways. Johad is not a new concept, but simply something that was practiced in the past by those people. It is a traditional water shed practice that comes from Rajasthan. It has some significant direct and indirect benefits. While it provides water for irrigation, drinking and other domestic purposes on a immediate effect, it also increases bio mass productivity, fodder availability, giving women more time to children, even increase micro entrepreneur ships like surplus food grain, milk and its products, better impact on health and hygiene due to increased water availability. Besides this there is also a cultural-social bond that takes place between with the Johad and the people. They are more than mere water harvesting structures for the community. For example, the presence of a small temple is constructed around the johad. It serves a practical purpose. According to the villagers, while visiting the temple everyday, people take note of any breakage in the bund and also any other maintenance required.
Considering the spread of TBS work in the area, a number of examples demonstrate that the villagers are taking up Johad construction with maximum contribution and with marginal support of TBS. With the visible gains in agricultural output and increase in groundwater table, the message is spreading from village to village. TBS has been an international success story. The Magsaysay Award validates that easily. The real success of the movement and the effort has been largely due to the local people’s participation. The fact that TBS was able to combine them, not just economically in the venture but also convinced them that such an effort would be worth trying was the real success. To understand the issues faced by people and take steps in the right direction to curb them is the ideal idea of development. TBS utilized that and transformed the lives of the people of Alwar.
Protecting an increasingly scarce resource
There are no substitutes for water, unlike any other resource. Fresh water resources are thinning rapidly today. In our times water is a resource without which imagining life would be immensely problematic. In the media these days- radio channels and newspapers in Delhi- there has been a rise in the advertisements that emphasize on the importance and need of harvesting water.
Owing to the presence of Aravallis, the state of Rajasthan falls in the rain-shadow area. The Thar Desert is one of the densely populated deserts among the world. The state is one of the driest regions in the country and the total surface water resources in the state in only about 1% of the total surface water of the country. The water resources are not just scarce but also highly uneven both in time and space. Groundwater also plays an important role especially in agriculture and drinking water supply. It was being over exploited and the water table in some areas has been going down at an alarming rate of 1 metre per year. Such a situation existed in four blocks of Alwar until 1985-86. In a place where the main source of livelihood ix forest based product, subsistence agriculture and live stock rearing, water becomes the key source of livelihood. Johad fitted well in accounting for optimum harvest of these sources. Over the years, these have been systematically destroyed at the altar of development. Industrial process initiated by the state and the government owing to the rich mineral and forest resourced in the region, resulted in leasing of the terrain for mining of quartz and pink marble. These were fed to the ever growing material industry of towns like Jaipur and Delhi. Excessive mining and large scale deforestation for timber resulted in severe land degradation which increased the frequency of floods and un natural droughts. Migration became the natural end result. The cycle of eco-degeneration had to be set in motion.
The semi arid landscape of Alwar in Rajasthan has undergone a major transformation in nearly the past two decades. Although rainfall averages at a scanty 620mm in a year, several wells in the area have been recharged to capacity. Hand pumps are back to life and water gushed out of them, several seasonal rivers have been converted into perennial source of water. The Government has neither pumped in money to bring the transformation nor have large scale engineering structures been built to turn the fortunes to Alwar around. Prompted by a well meaning voluntary organization and inspired by a tradition that was beginning to fade away, the people of eight blocks of Alwar have transformed their misfortunes by erecting water tanks in the district. Over 2500 Johads, dot the landscape of Alwar. In 1984, Tarun Bharat Sangh, TBS, a voluntary organization based in the village of Bhikampura of Alwar was struggling to gain roots in the impoverished villages of Alwar. In 1985-86, it was hit by the worst drought. Due to it, migration peaked. It was here that the organization and its workers spotted the neglect of a tradition. Working on Johads not only gave a sense of purpose but also a clue to address a wide range of issues including migration. They have transformed the ecology, agriculture, economics and a general well-being of the population in several villages of the district.
As a ecology student, my interests rest heavily on the water condition of India. Exposure to TBS and their work was not only enriching but also inspiring. When we reached at the location of our stay at night, the presence of a jungle around me and the simplistic set up of the place, both bringing us close to nature was extremely exciting. Our day at the place started with a drive down to a village where we saw anitcuts and johads. We also came across the traditional structure of a ‘baoli’ which was being used by the people at that time. We walked through towards another big johad and under the shade of a tree; Kanhaiya Lal jee explained to us the history of the johad in front of us and the issues they faced after it was built by the government. Opening a big map, on a piece of cloth, he helped us locate the different johads in the district built by TBS. Atop a hill, we found the small temple of the village deity. Following that, we visited the village where we saw the local school and met people of the Gram Sabha. It was a school with about 240 students and three teachers, only one of them present there at that moment, something straight out of P.Sainath’s writings on development policies in India. In the afternoon we interacted with the people at the ashram. It was significant to see and understand that the postman, the treasurer, the accountant etc double up as volunteers and work without any clear cut hierarchies. The people who worked there were locals who had made the change and mobilized the others to aid them, to aid themselves for their futures. The second day took us to a far away village around which the dead river ‘Arvari’ was revived. Although we could not see the river, we saw another important aspect of the activity. The johad of the village was claimed by another man, who claimed to have bought the place from a ex service man who had in turn received it from the Government. However, there were certain issues questioning this, as the area actually falls into a buffer zone of Sariska Reserve. The villagers were all together in a protest, a la Gandhian way, the practice followed by TBS workers. The methodology was simple-of placards and ‘nara-bazi’. The village elders gathered and told us about their issues and problems faced by them.
TBS works through the channel of people. They build structure like anicuts, check dams and johads to harvest water. The effort is to tap the rain water through these ways. Johad is not a new concept, but simply something that was practiced in the past by those people. It is a traditional water shed practice that comes from Rajasthan. It has some significant direct and indirect benefits. While it provides water for irrigation, drinking and other domestic purposes on a immediate effect, it also increases bio mass productivity, fodder availability, giving women more time to children, even increase micro entrepreneur ships like surplus food grain, milk and its products, better impact on health and hygiene due to increased water availability. Besides this there is also a cultural-social bond that takes place between with the Johad and the people. They are more than mere water harvesting structures for the community. For example, the presence of a small temple is constructed around the johad. It serves a practical purpose. According to the villagers, while visiting the temple everyday, people take note of any breakage in the bund and also any other maintenance required.
Considering the spread of TBS work in the area, a number of examples demonstrate that the villagers are taking up Johad construction with maximum contribution and with marginal support of TBS. With the visible gains in agricultural output and increase in groundwater table, the message is spreading from village to village. TBS has been an international success story. The Magsaysay Award validates that easily. The real success of the movement and the effort has been largely due to the local people’s participation. The fact that TBS was able to combine them, not just economically in the venture but also convinced them that such an effort would be worth trying was the real success. To understand the issues faced by people and take steps in the right direction to curb them is the ideal idea of development. TBS utilized that and transformed the lives of the people of Alwar.
Comments
Looks like you've done a lot of research on Alwar.. Are you giving to Srini?