Water literacy campaign need of the hour, says Waterman Rajendra Singh

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 21

Magsaysay award winner “Jal Purush” Rajendra Singh today called for launching of a water literacy campaign in Himachal even as he admitted that hydro-power generation and tunneling of mountains could adversely impact the water resources.

“The issue of river rights needs to be addressed as there is no separate provision in our Indian judicial system to address water disputes,” he said while citing the recent judgment of Uttrakhand High Court. “In our endeavour to meet our power requirements for development, we have somewhere forgotten the ancient tradition of respecting our rivers”, he pointed out.

Singh was invited by Governor Acharya Devvrat to share his experience of rejuvenating the rivers in Rajasthan and bringing about a green revolution in deserts. Speaking at a workshop organized at Raj Bhawan, he gave tips to officials, farmers, fruit growers and NGOs how to conserve water through indigenous knowledge and community driven decentralized management.

He said while the issue of hydro-power generation needs to be looked closely, Himachal could help conserve water by slowing down the flow of streams and the resultant soil erosion. “The agro ecological climatic diversity needs to understood, applied properly and respected. It is with this in mind that we need a separate design for meeting water needs of different regions, with a community driven decentralized management,” he said.

He stressed that the success of any such government movement would depend on the extent to which the officials are able to win the confidence of the villagers and the community. “Once they are convinced that the money will not be siphoned off by corrupt officials, the community will ensure the success of any such movement,” he remarked.

He said there was no dearth of technology and engineering in India but there has to be perfect synergy between spiritual science and material science.

He elaborated how he was able to recharge 11,800 ponds and other water resources in water scarce Rajasthan without any help whatsoever from the government. “The situation is far better in Himachal, where the rains are 11 times more than in Rajasthan and the population density almost the same. While you are the pampered sons of God, we in the deserts were virtually like step sons of God,” he said on a lighter note.

He lamented that today scientists, researchers and experts were rich in verbal knowledge but not in practical and traditional knowhow.