Project Jal Chetna
Empowering Communities through Water Conservation
Water is not just a resource, it’s a lifeline that sustains life on our planet. However, due to lack of awareness water scarcity and pollution continue to threaten communities worldwide. Project Jal Chetna seeks to address these challenges by educating, engaging, and empowering individuals and communities to take action in our country.
Through a series of interactive workshops, outreach programs, and hands-on initiatives, we aim to instil a sense of responsibility and ownership over water conservation efforts. From teaching simple water-saving techniques to promoting Rainwater Harvesting Practices, our goal is to empower individuals and communities to make a tangible difference.
We are working towards fostering a culture of water conservation. We’re partnering with educational institutions, communities, and organizations to implement sustainable water management practices.
Water availability is a critical concern, but the pollution of existing water resources is becoming increasingly dire. Historically, civilizations flourished along rivers, leveraging this essential resource for sustenance and growth. Unfortunately, driven by relentless development and human greed, the contamination levels in these waters have escalated to alarming levels. Rivers, the very cradle of human civilization and a fundamental sustainer of life, are now suffering from the adverse impacts of what is often mislabelled as progress.
Recognizing the urgency of this issue, DEEKSHA initiated “PROJECT JAL CHETNA,” a Water Conservation Project designed to awaken a collective consciousness towards the preservation of our precious water bodies. This initiative underscores the importance of understanding the reasons behind water scarcity and the measures necessary to conserve it.
To shed light on these issues and offer viable solutions, DEEKSHA has crafted comprehensive training programs and produced extensive materials on water conservation and rainwater harvesting. These resources have been disseminated across over 2750 schools, aiming to instil a sense of responsibility and equip future generations with the knowledge and tools to protect our water resources.
We have regularly organised various programmes for sensitization of the masses/executed various projects about this issue of prime importance. A few of them are listed below.
Our Initiatives
“CHUA TO TAP” : The Success Story Of Rasabeda Water Challenge
The inhabitants of Village Rasabeda in District Ranchi, Jharkhand lived their life by the day. Each day began by the women folk walking to the nearby “Chua”, the only source of water for the 117 inhabitants of the village, to fetch water for drinking and cooking. For bathing they would all go to the chua and bathe. Such was the situation that the livestock and humans both shared the only source of water for survival. Without water supply in their village, life was difficult. All this has changed now, thanks to the joint initiative by DEEKSHA and GRAM Association.
Living in Rasabeda village meant spending two hours every day walking to fetch water down steep hillside to an unprotected spring, only to have to carry a 20-litre jerry can of water back up to home. Life was a challenge. Threat of reptiles, elephants and wildlife always loomed. Venturing out to fetch water at night, in the darkness, was out of question.
When DEEKSHA and GRAM Association partnered with residents of Rasabeda village to bring them community improved water services, it gave them a chance at a better life as also multiplying the prosperity water brings to the lives of people.
A water pipeline was laid from above the chua to the village where a water storage tank of 5600 litre capacity was constructed. A 13500 litre capacity sump to store rain water was also developed. Besides this a 1500 litre tank has been provisioned on roof top to supply water for the toilet at the school. A rainwater recharge pit has been dug to help recharge ground water with rain water runoff.
Throughout this project, the local villagers were provided employment to carry out the tasks for execution of the project. This way the villagers of Rasabeda not only got a water provisioning system but also benefitted with employment opportunity during its construction.
The team has not stopped at provisioning of water to the village. We have now embarked upon the path of providing sustainable lively hood through horticulture to the villagers. DEEKSHA has provided the villagers around 100 fruit tree saplings to enable them to earn their livelihood in future through sustainable organic horticulture.
Training Workshop
We have conducted numerous workshops on Water Conservation in various educational institutions across the country for students and teachers. Students are involved in finding sustainable solutions to the water issues in their schools as Fresh Water Conservation has become the need of the day keeping in mind the Fresh Water Scarcity in most parts of the country. Experts have opined if necessary actions are not undertaken for fresh water conservation and management, the coming years may well go down the history as the years of water emergency. Already many parts of the country are facing acute water shortages. It is, therefore, necessary for all of us to come together and address the issue as a mass movement. To further highlight the same DEEKSHA has been distributing a number of hand outs and literature on water conservation and water harvesting to all the stake holders.
Drip Irrigation
DEEKSHA has implemented drip irrigation methodology in many educational institutions besides spreading awareness about the same as a method of conservation of water. The students are being made aware about the tremendous advantages that the drip irrigation method provides in agriculture and horticulture besides gardening. Although it’s initial cost is a bit high but the returns by way of water conservation far outweigh the same. A number of institutions have evinced keen interest in installing the drip irrigation systems to care for their gardens.
Documentary on Water Conservation
With an aim to motivate the children to actively take part in water conservation, a Documentary film “Water is Life” made by Siddharth Samuel and Divya Jaiswal, both Class 12 students of Col Satsangi Kiran Memorial School, New Delhi, was released at a function Held at Chandigarh Press Club by the Director DEEKSHA. The documentary, made under active guidance of Mr Murali Menon, (a renowned Information Scientist) and DEEKSHA, highlights the importance of water conservation as also the need to adopt various practices to save mother earth.
Rain Water Harvesting
DEEKSHA has launched a concerted campaign to promote Rain Water Harvesting with a pledge to motivate people to install the structures in their premises. Many institutions and residential colonies/societies have come forward for the same. Rain Water Harvesting is being used not only to store water for various usages but also to recharge ground water. Among the notable rain water harvesting projects carried out by DEEKSHA are the ones at Village Rasasbeda in Jharkhand, Udyan Ghar at Narsingpur at Gurugram and Spring Dales School at Delhi.
Theatre Festival
With a view to raise awareness about water conservation amongst the students, DEEKSHA along with Eco Roots Foundation, supported by Department of Sciene & Technology, Govt of India, organised a Theatre Festival on Water Conservation. A large number of students displayed their remarkable talent and sensitivity towards water conservation by performing during the same. The Theatre Festival focused on the role of women in water management. The theme of the theatre festival was “Neer, Naari Vigyan” and it concentrated on the role of women in water conservation by acknowledging their power and by revealing their stories about the change of status of water over the years besides revealing the rationale behind water management.
