Varanasi: Contrary to the idea that the administrative machinery should work to bring about social change, the community should lead and the authorities should follow to ensure the sustainability of the idea, its effective implementation and the maintenance of the system.
This was an important conclusion from the post-lunch session of the event, which was devoted to the role of the community in water conservation. Models and community leaders from different parts of Uttar Pradesh shared their prototypes with a view to show the way to others.
To bring the best out of these case studies, a panel of experts including Professor Prabhat K Singh, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT-BHU, Farooq Khan, Technical Expert, WaterAid and Professor Venkatesh Dutta, Faculty, School of Earth Sciences, Babasaheb. Bhimrao Ambedkar University conducted the session and collected the takeaways.
In the inaugural session, UNICEF UP’s WASH expert Nagendra P Singh used real-life stories from Gonda, Barabanki and Siddharthnagar to talk about the need, potential and role of the community in water conservation. He elaborated that the community needs to be convinced of something in order to embrace and contribute to the cause.
Former District Magistrate of Banda Hira Lal shared how only the community can turn vision into action. Referring to his travels in this dry Bundelkhand district, Hira Lal – currently serving as Additional Mission Director National Health Mission UP – said his biggest learning was that contrary to the belief that officials lead the campaign It is the community that is the true harbinger of change. “Banda’s story of change became a model as people took it forward… As a system or as administrative leader (read DM) of the district, we can be just facilitators,” he said. .
Recalling Mahatma Gandhi’s idea that empowerment of women accelerated social change, Sanjay Singh, National Convener of Jan Jal Jodi Abhiyan shared the story of Jal Saheli – women committed to water conservation in Bundelkhand. At present Jal Sahelis active in 93 villages work on all aspects of water conservation, which has made their own life easier.
Stating that indirect methods are also needed for water conservation, Prof. VK Tripathi, Department of Agricultural Engineering, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University told what farmers can do to save water. Citing precision irrigation as a means, he said that switching from conventional irrigation methods to drip irrigation can help irrigate a larger area, increase crop yield, increase nutrient efficiency by up to 90%.
The session concluded with the idea that water security is directly linked to food security and both elements are vital to human existence which necessitates community participation. Ideas on this were presented by Mohd Afzal Ahmed, United Nations Prize Laureate on Water Cooperation and Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, BHU.
This was an important conclusion from the post-lunch session of the event, which was devoted to the role of the community in water conservation. Models and community leaders from different parts of Uttar Pradesh shared their prototypes with a view to show the way to others.
To bring the best out of these case studies, a panel of experts including Professor Prabhat K Singh, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT-BHU, Farooq Khan, Technical Expert, WaterAid and Professor Venkatesh Dutta, Faculty, School of Earth Sciences, Babasaheb. Bhimrao Ambedkar University conducted the session and collected the takeaways.
In the inaugural session, UNICEF UP’s WASH expert Nagendra P Singh used real-life stories from Gonda, Barabanki and Siddharthnagar to talk about the need, potential and role of the community in water conservation. He elaborated that the community needs to be convinced of something in order to embrace and contribute to the cause.
Former District Magistrate of Banda Hira Lal shared how only the community can turn vision into action. Referring to his travels in this dry Bundelkhand district, Hira Lal – currently serving as Additional Mission Director National Health Mission UP – said his biggest learning was that contrary to the belief that officials lead the campaign It is the community that is the true harbinger of change. “Banda’s story of change became a model as people took it forward… As a system or as administrative leader (read DM) of the district, we can be just facilitators,” he said. .
Recalling Mahatma Gandhi’s idea that empowerment of women accelerated social change, Sanjay Singh, National Convener of Jan Jal Jodi Abhiyan shared the story of Jal Saheli – women committed to water conservation in Bundelkhand. At present Jal Sahelis active in 93 villages work on all aspects of water conservation, which has made their own life easier.
Stating that indirect methods are also needed for water conservation, Prof. VK Tripathi, Department of Agricultural Engineering, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University told what farmers can do to save water. Citing precision irrigation as a means, he said that switching from conventional irrigation methods to drip irrigation can help irrigate a larger area, increase crop yield, increase nutrient efficiency by up to 90%.
The session concluded with the idea that water security is directly linked to food security and both elements are vital to human existence which necessitates community participation. Ideas on this were presented by Mohd Afzal Ahmed, United Nations Prize Laureate on Water Cooperation and Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, BHU.
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