The Hindu : `Nobody is bothered about water security'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 03, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

`Nobody is bothered about water security'

By Karthik Subramanian

Magsaysay award winner, Rajendra Singh (right), inspecting a local community-maintained water body at Kuttambakkam village in Tiruvallur on Friday, along with the local panchayat president, R. Illango. - Photo: S.Thanthoni

CHENNAI MAY 2. Management of water bodies is best left to local communities, Ramon Magsaysay awardee, Rajendra Singh, who was in the city on Friday as part of his "Rashtriya Jal Chetna Yatra" said.

The Jaipur-based rural development campaigner won the international award in 2001for his initiative in transforming the water scarce Alwar district of Rajasthan into a water rich zone. The participation of the local villagers in water conservation measures was pivotal to the success in Alwar. Mr. Singh's organisation, Tarun Bharat Sangh mobilised support and resources for the campaign.

"If the villagers of Alwar can create a success story in one of the most water scarce regions of the country, why not the people of Tamil Nadu", asks Mr. Singh.

"Water is a common resource and it is the right of every person in the community to conserve it. Every citizen has the right to question commercial exploitation of the common resource. We all talk about food security but nobody is bothered about water security", he said.

Tamil Nadu is the 17th State in his itinerary of his awareness (`Chetna' in Hindi) rally that commenced December last in New Delhi. So far, he claims that more than 37 lakh people whom he met en route had taken oath not to use bottled water. Also the yatra claimed a major victory in Chattisgarh where they mobilised public support against private exploitation of Sirnath River, and community-driven decentralised water management works were launched in 45 places.

On Friday, Mr. Singh visited several villages in Tiruvallur district where he held meetings with the leaders of the local panchayat unions and urged them to take up water conservation efforts and oppose private exploitation of water resources. "If the management of water resources is decentralised and handed over to the local community, they realise their moral responsibility to conserve the resources. Once this is achieved, commercial exploitation of groundwater resources by multi-national companies will be naturally brought to a halt," he added.

"The government is only paving way for multi-national companies to set up water bottling units. Several years before it seemed improbable, but today we pay more for water than milk".

He was also of the view that inter-linking of rivers was not feasible and should not be done. Among other villages, Mr. Singh visited Kuttambakkam village in Tiruvallur where he inspected rainwater harvesting measures taken up by the local community. The local panchayat head, R. Illango, accompanied him.

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