Ambuja Foundation organized a closed door event to discuss ‘what works in rural drinking water governance’ in India, in collaboration with the National Jal Jeevan Mission Professor Chair, Centre for Water Policy and Governance, and Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. The event included key experts working on water from Government, NGOs, Corporates and consultants.

In the arid landscapes of Rajasthan, India, a crisis silently unfolds—that of dwindling water sources and the slow but sure desertification of land that was once fertile. While some parts of the world grapple with the threat of melting glaciers and rising sea levels, the communities here face a different battle. One that is characterized by parched lands, cracked earth, acute water scarcity and relentless droughts. And the story has been repeating with increasing intensity, year after year!

Ambuja Foundation has partnered with NABARD to implement the Bari Watershed Development Project in Ropar district of Punjab. With the success of a pilot capacity building programme in 2020, the partnership continued with a watershed initiative.

Ambuja Foundation kicked off a month-long campaign (21st February – 22nd March) promoting water resource management across locations, with team preparing various activities in the communities to engage and educate children, youth, women and farmers.

In a vast developing country like India with deeply entrenched gender divides, the words ‘water’ and ‘women’ are synonymous with one another. For it is on the shoulders of the women of the family, where the responsibility of collecting water, rests. And as water becomes more and more scarce, it is a heavy, and unfair burden to bear – particularly with its impacts exacerbated by the consequences of climate change. As water scarcity, heatwaves and droughts become more widespread, women and girls find themselves walking greater distances to fetch water.

Water conservation is the need of the hour, as India’s water crisis deepens and the impacts of climate change create more and more uncertainty – particularly in India’s vulnerable rural and remote interiors, where poverty is rife.

Ambuja Foundation is putting rural water at the top of its agenda, in a heightened effort to highlight the imperative of this issue for rural sustainability and overall national prosperity.

“When you visit a village in Rajasthan, you are bound to find a pond close by. One of the most ancient and traditional structures for rainwater harvesting, there are about 83,000 ponds in Rajasthan.

“We noticed cases of stomach and digestive ailments coming into the Health Clinic so we decided to test the water.

Across Ambuja Foundation locations, a cadre of ‘Water Volunteers’ is the quiet, driving force behind access to water in communities – for both drinking water and livelihood purposes. Playing diverse roles, from monitoring water quality, to operating irrigation pumps, these water champions work long hard hours – for free – to ensure water is available when people need it. Who are they? And what drives these selfless heroes?

There is an urgent need for people in rural communities to change the way in which they view, and subsequently treat, community ponds. From being seen as a community dumping ground, to being viewed and valued as an abundant community resource, we must reignite the interdependent relationship between people and ponds.

The recent pandemic has averted our attention from the alarming water crisis India is facing, however the distressing problem remains. With short memories, many have forgotten that 21 Indian cities ran out of water in 2019, and that unless something radical is done, we face a grim future when it comes to water.