We generally receive rainfall in heavy showers followed by dry spells. When it rains heavily the soil is not able to absorb water at the rate of...

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We generally receive rainfall in heavy showers followed by dry spells. When it rains heavily the soil is not able to absorb water at the rate of rainfall. As a result most of the rain drains away, leaving very little for storage & the recharge of groundwater. This makes most parts of India experience lack of water even for domestic usage. Thus it does not matter how much rain we get, if we don’t harvest it. Susanta Biswas has just completed a documentary titled “Jol Dharo – Jol Bharo (Preserve Water, Reserve Water)” [Bengali, English, Hindi & Santali. 11 mints. Produced by Government of West Bengal in cooperation with Department of Water Resources Investigation and Development] on the Government of West Bengal pioneering project to preserve rain water with a focus on the activities of State Water Investigation Directorate in this regard. To preserve rain water and other natural water available on the earth’s surface by carefully controlling the respective resources, Govt. of West Bengal has initiated the project. And initiatives are being taken to establish appropriate storage tanks and check-dams of various capacities in different areas at the state, in implementing its goal. The documentary dealt with this issue of water resource management in water-scarce region in West Bengal, an eastern region state of India where the majority of rural population depends on agriculture for their livelihood. Thus lack of adequate water resource has inducted high level of uncertainty and insecurity in the mind of the local inhabitant. The Jol Dharo – Jol Bharo (Preserve Water, Reserve Water) initiative of Government of West Bengal tries to provide a replicable framework as a solution to this ecological inequality in the face of looming impacts of climate change. To watch the documentary please click on the following link: http://youtu.be/VLg2_J8cI44 A Documentary by SUSANTA BISWAS Produced by: Government of West Bengal Production Partner: State Water Investigation Directorate under Department of Water Resources Investigation and Development Country: India / Production year: 2012 / Location: West Bengal

2 Comments

  2. The video is private, I would like to watch it. I worked with an NGO in Assam that is addressing the issue of food security for marginal rural farmers. Although Assam is far less water-scarce than West Bengal, the issues of food and water security are closely related in areas of rain-fed agriculture. Increasing climate change is influencing the monsoonal rains and irregularities leave farmers' crops vulnerable to flood, drought and shifting crop seasons. An increased effort to harvest rain water in rural areas would help to ease the uncertainty and insecurity such farmers face. Please post an updated link for the documentary, And Thank You. Ben