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Literary Review
Catching rain
RAINWATER HARVESTING (RWH) has obviously become an in-thing today, and Shree Padre, an energetic writer, has compiled the concepts of RWH between the covers of his slim book.
The book of 119 pages and 23 chapters, with 15 ``Success Stories'', is concise and the best part of the book is the last chapter where Shree Padre has listed, like a researcher, the sources of information for his book.
Shree Padre may have seen some of the structures he has mentioned and he seems to have taken pains to explain soil quality parameters and each type of rain trapping technique.
Unfortunately he has treated rooftop RWH casually. The point he has missed is, a large percentage of India's surface area is still in villages where rainwater recharges the soil much more than it does in urban agglomerates. The land surface in urban areas is covered, and a huge quantity of rainwater is lost every season. This loss needs to be tapped. Therefore this chapter should have provided more insight.
On the whole, the book is an outcome of enthusiasm, initiative, and belief. And these need to be appreciated. Shree Padre hasn't had the benefit of big publishers supporting his cause, and he could not afford the luxury of a launch in some starred hotel, where the book benefiting such awesome focus may be eminently unreadable and could border on myopic trash.
All said and done, Shree Padre's book on RWH is timely because it presents a topic that can solve the nation's water scarcity and flood control problems in the long run.
Rain Water Harvesting, Shree Padre, Altermedia, p.119, Rs. 110.
GOUTAM GHOSH
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