Author: Harsh Kabra
Publication: Outlook
Date: April 11, 2005
URL: http://www.outlookindia.com/mad.asp?fodname=20050411&fname=Making&sid=1
Introduction: Raised amid the daily
struggles for water, this eco-volunteer is turning Rajasthan green
In Manapia and Damodara villages
deep in Rajasthan's Thar desert, women cannot hide the joy on their faces.
They no longer have to trudge endless miles across scorching sands in search
of water for their families and livestock. Water is now at their doorstep,
perennially. The picture is no different in nearby villages like Dujasar,
Khadera, Kahala, Masurdi, Kuldhara and Gorera. Set in India's lowest rainfall
region that ekes out a bare existence from farming and animal husbandry,
these villages are today harnessing their meagre share of the monsoons
to keep a steady supply of water all the year round.
The life-sustaining oasis in the
region owes a lot to Jethu Singh Bhati, a 36-year-old agriculturist, better
known as an eco-volunteer and the general secretary of an NGO, the Thar
Integrated Social Development Society (TISDS). Convinced that "the comfort
of piped water supply has spoilt people and bred wasteful
water habits," Bhati, a postgraduate
in sociology, is reviving long-forgotten rainwater-harvesting systems and
developing a drought-proof model for Jaisalmer district.
Born to a camel-rider's family ousted
by Pokhran-I, Bhati grew up amid daily struggles for water. He had heard
stories of how the region was once bustling with caravanserais on medieval
trade routes and had a thriving pastoral economy. Clearly, the region wasn't
always so short on water, a fact borne out by the area's high density of
human and cattle population. Bhati developed keen interest in indigenous
water systems like palar pani (ponds and tanks fed by rainwater), rejani
pani (monsoon run-off that seeps into the earth at places called paars),
and patali pani (wells fed by underground water). "Unlike tube-wells, water
sources of yore never failed," he says. What also caught Bhati's attention
was the age-old wisdom that patali pani be used only as the last resort
because it takes long to recharge. "Over-dependence on groundwater is making
water wars imminent," he says.
TISDS came into existence in 1994
from a group of high school friends that Bhati had formed in 1986 to work
for the region's environment. It today spreads ecological awareness in
villages, develops paars and revives orans or sacred groves dedicated to
local deities to protect them from human greed. At one oran project funded
by the undp, Bhati planted diverse saplings to obtain fodder, grass and
wood, ensured regeneration of existing rootstalk, and built a pond and
a tank.
Apart from solving water problems
and generating employment, rejuvenation of paars has also sensitised the
youth to their time-tested benefits. In tapping water held at depths of
6-12 feet by rocky subsurface gypsum found in Jaisalmer, Barmer and Sindh
region, the focus is on refurbishing agor (upstream catchments), agar (downstream
embankments and storage systems) and kuis/beris (water holes). "We concentrate
more on clearing catchments," reveals Bhati. "Digging and de-silting of
storage systems often hog undue attention but yield little without good
catchments," he adds.
To build a paar at manapia, Bhati
acquired non-farming tracts from the panchayat on a five-year lease in
2003 with monetary help from the Centre for Science and Environment. For
boosting the village income, he began to grow fodder, endangered plants
and rabi crops. Bhati is now using the paar water to revitalise pasturelands.
"Governments pride themselves on expensive projects. But our work shows
that systems intrinsically linked to the region's hydrography, topography
and economy are most effective." Taking a cue, Jaisalmer's local administration
has now integrated paars with strategic land development measures.
Contact Bhati at: Silawata Para,
Shiv Rd, Jaisalmer-345001. Tel: (2992) 250594 E-mail: jethusinghjsm@yahoo.co.in
