|
Metro Plus
Applauding an initiative
|
Though much is being said about rain water harvesting (RWH) only a few have actually put the methods to good use. The recent Thanksgiving Dinner, hosted by an NRI, was intended to welcome those who had taken the initiative to implement RWH or had benefited by it.
|
EVEN AN oblique reference to rainwater harvesting (RWH) these days elicits a sarcastic smile from my colleagues — "There you go again!" They have been overhearing my long talks on RWH with visitors. So I have no doubts that my learned peers are as aware of the power of RWH as I am; but most of them do not harvest rainwater in their houses.
Almost everyone today is aware of what RWH is, but only a handful have stepped forward to direct rainwater to the aquifer. Most still prefer to stand and watch.
Watch what? They can't see the water gushing down the pipes into the aquifer or slamming the rings of the well and vanishing into the unsaturated layers. They can't see the hair-thin streams of water meandering through cracks to reach the ground water. So if they decide not to believe, they cannot be convinced even if they stood and watched thousands of litres of rainwater disappearing below. Such resolute non-believers will respond only if they are compelled.
Luckily, not many have stepped backward and tossed the concept into rainwater highways, known as storm water drains.
The few who have ``risked'' investing in RWH systems, after their 100-metre bore wells stopped yielding, have remained unrecognised. These water-starved lot who have taken the step forward decided, ``Why not try and see what happens'' Compare this with the scores of police medals and other awards given on Republic Day each year.
The number is growing, albeit slowly, but they are rarely heard of, and more rarely lauded. They benefit immensely from their initiative, and try to motivate neighbours who seem to suffer incurably from the Broken Record Syndrome — ``Looks okay, but if I do, someone else will benefit.''
The Thanksgiving Dinner, hosted primarily by Mr. Ram Krishnan of Minneapolis, U.S. on January 24 at a hotel, was intended to welcome the gutsy lot into the fold — of believers in and beneficiaries of RWH. The large number present comprised those who swear by RWH and others who wanted to make sure ``if RWH really, really helped.'' There was none who did not know about RWH.
Given our innate urge to enjoy listening to our own speech at a public forum, the possibility of the schedule going haywire was high if all were to air their experiences. So Mr. Krishnan wound up the ``experience sharing'' after two hours.
Mr. Rajagopal of Ashok Leyland, Ennore, said that the firm began RWH more than a decade ago and was totally self-sufficient in water. The firm extracts 12.5 lakh litres a day from the recharged aquifer. In fact, the firm has so much water that it sends 30,000 litres a day to its foundry unit close by. The recycled water sprinkled on once-barren stretches has turned them green.
Similarly, the Indian Oil Corporation regional office, Nungambakkam High Road, has become self-sufficient in water by harvesting rain in its sprawling parking lot. Another industrialist from Ambattur, Mr. Sriram, said that his Rs.25,000 investment in RWH was saving him Rs.1 lakh a year because he had stopped buying tanker loads years ago.
Ms. Shanta Sheela Nair, secretary, Municipal Administration and Water Supply, said, ``The best way to convince a non-believer is to direct the rainwater from the terrace into the sump.'' A 12,000 litre sump can be filled in a few minutes, whereas the mild jet from a Metrowater inlet pipe will take hours to do the job. As a bureaucrat, Ms. Nair is an exception because she promotes RWH actively — even when she is not directly involved with water supply (as Home Secretary earlier).
``Once the sump is full and the cover is fairly watertight, the water will force its way out through the inlet pipe and flow into other sumps around,'' said Ms Nair. An amazing reverse supply — by rainwater. ``One of the most important roles RWH can play is in flood mitigation. If you take care of the rainwater in your house, you will not add to the load on the street. If everyone does it, there will be no flooding at all,'' she said. A very sensible and feasible solution.
The Government can and must harvest rainwater on flood-prone road stretches. Ms. Nair's dig at a section of the media, which highlighted a flooded G. N. Chetty Road every year, drew instant applause from the audience. It is important to prevent water logging in hundreds of spots in the city, particularly in north Madras where lanes and by-lanes seem to get flooded whenever there is a threat of rain.
In addition the Government must focus on the massive surface run-off from fly-overs, which must be directed through filter beds to reduce the contaminant load — spit, dung, urine, faecal waste and motor oil, among other hazardous substances. The Government, with Ms. Nair and her team of experts, can ensure this easily.
The thanksgiving ended on a happy note with everyone pledging to promote RWH, and each person got a colourful, waterproof board with the message ``Rainwater harvesting done in this plot'' in English and Tamil. To be nailed to the gate or the boundary wall near the gate for all passing sceptics to see.
Akash Ganga Chennai, an Internet group of like-minded individuals spread all over our lonely planet, has come a long way. And with civil engineering students hopping on to the RWH bandwagon, the movement can accelerate if the Government promulgates a law to enforce RWH and designs rewards for those who do RWH, by reducing their water tax and charges.
If RWH implementation is left to ``awareness leading to action'' it will take years to spread. What the State (as well as every water- starved area in India) needs is to speed it up. And only a tight law and justified rewards can set the pendulum of change swinging.
E-mail the author at: gou@vsnl.net
GOUTAM GHOSH
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
|
