Oct 18, 2006 :: 10 ponds revived by civil society in Meerut

Here is the exciting story of a collaboration between Rain Centre and Janhit Foundation in Meerut, UP that has led to thousands across civil society participating in revival of neglected water bodies. They first surveyed over 600 villages, discovered most of them to be in disuse and roused people’s interest in water security. In several places, ancient folk histories were recalled to emphasise spiritual origins of some tanks. For instance the Gandhari pond, in Parikshit Garh, was named for a Mahabharata heroine. The movement also broke caste barriers: Asha Rani, a Dalit woman of Alamgirpur emerged as a great leader mobilising people. Many -including government officials- contributed physically to de-silt ponds. Several homes, factories and offices have opted to rig their houses for harvesting rain water. The Women’s Police Station in Meerut now sports an elaborate RWH system.

Impressed, the Planning Commission ordered a countrywide census of water bodies. That could be the base document on which to mount a wider campaign. Full story