Every year, over 500,000 children in India never reach the age of 5 because of water-related diseases like diarrhea, gastroenteritis, hepatitis. Over 300 million Indians have no access to toilets. Already, 224 million Indians live in water stress. About 70% of irrigation needs and 80% of municipal water supplies come from groundwater sources. However, depleted aquifers and lowered groundwater tables mean that this is no longer sustainable. It has been estimated that by as early as 2020, India’s demand for water will exceed ALL sources of supply.
Can we make a difference? One individual thinks so. And one organization is supporting him in his mission for the cause of water. On April 26th 2008, Sharada Prasad will start a 19,000 km Motorcycle Ride across India. The objective of Sharada’s ride is to discover what water means to people across the country. The problems faced by people with respect to water are different in different parts of the country. Support him by going to ;
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/k2k/
good,
good if it goes through,
changes things,among the countless, for even 1 borough,
With so many things to set right in the world of sorrow,
even if we aren’t big enough to stop other horrors,
we shouldnt be small enough to save a drop for tomorrow,
lest even to cry would we need a tear from another to borrow….
Thank You for the info,
We all can make a difference to help the cause
I’ll now share this info with friends,
2 DO Something …
Shekhar you are a resource, a community friend
A child dies every 15 seconds from easily preventable water-related diseases.
Wishing you the best
thanks for this shekhar. great cause. will let friends know. as aj says, you really are a resource in yrself. shiv.
Thank you so much for the information and I am so happy to hear someone is going to bring awareness to the issue. We all need to do our part as this is not only an India problem, but a global concern. There are many USA and other foreign businesses and companies that use the water in India as part of their manufacturing process and let’s not leave out the soda and water bottling companies that are literally suck India dry.
I too will share this information with my friends, family, and colleagues.
Blessings,
Melissa
Thank you for this information.
Regards.
Indian goverment should send some of our folks in India to observe the water conservation, preservation and relevant regulation passed in the great lakes area of America.
with the 5 great lakes, such as lake michigan etc.. these have 26 % of the worlds fresh water reserves.
They have some good practices we can learn from.
Those figures you’ve quoted Shekhar are sad and scary!! We all need to do something! I cant wait for your “Paani” film. I’m sure it will be sending out some hard hitting notes to the masses!!
ShekharJi,
Its nice to see that rich and famous people of India , taking interest in solution of common problems in India. When I see fight between two states regarding such basic thing as water in India, my heart cries that even after 60 years of independance we havent been able to provide these basic things like clean drinking water, toilets and electricity to our fellow countrymen.
I see all this problems just because of ignorance of common masses. Majority of the population wasnt educated at time of Independence and our govt didnt do anything special for giving primary education for all. The only change after independance was ruling of India brown sahebs instead of Gora sahebs.. Govt didnt change in real sense. It remained a mai baap and it made people serve to itself than serving people like before independance.. people get the govt they deserve. We as indians havet taken our voting rights seriously. When the poors and ignorants cast votes on religion and community lines and educated people declare voting as picnic day, we will be ruled by govt which just thinks of its own survival than of country. It all comes down to awakening of Indians and I can see you are doing that in your own capacity.. Keep it up ShekharJi.. I thank u from bottom of my heart for taking a cause of common masses in India.. Jai Hind.
Hemant Dubey
http://www.himalayan-swastika.blogspot.com
Dear Shekhar,
Where are we going as human race?
Where are we going as Indians?
With deforestation,extinction of so many
species of animals…with more people than land, more people than resources?Why are we still stuck in the old way of running this world?
Why cant we as people come together to save Us?To save our Earth?
Thank you for making me think!!!
Best as always
Anku Bakshi Sharma
Thank you for keeping us updated on the water crisis in India.
Here in Australia, we are in the midst of our worst drought ever recorded. Where I live in the south, in the city of Melbourne, we are planning to build a desalination plant to supplement our dwindling water catchment supply. Not only will this desalination plant (powered by coal) destroy a beautiful part of the coast where I grew up, it will create a salty dead zone out at sea and take the lives many tonnes of sea creatures every day.
When will my own countrymen wake up and realise that water does not simply come from a tap? When will we realise that it is a precious resource, the most valued commodity essential for life? I fear that day will come too late.
Water is Life
The Blue Planet Run is across the globe …
here are some links
http://www.samrao.com/BluePlanetRun2007a.html
http://www.blueplanetrun.org
Let us spread the word and create awareness
Dear Shekhar, whole world has great hopes from Paani
With Best Wishes for your dedication and efforts
dear mr. kapur,
It’s taken me some time to stumble on to this blog but in a way it couldn’t have come at a better time. It’s heartening to see a film on a subject of such utmost urgency come together even if it has been prolonged.
I have been volunteering as project co-ordinator for an international water film festival titled Voices From the Waters. The first edition was held in Bangalore in 2005. The second was held in June last year and it is still continuing as a travelling film festival across cities, small towns and institutions across the country. It has been concieved as a platform without any defined boundaries celebrating the blue gold and building awareness. The next edition of the festival is scheduled for September 2008. I have attatched below the call for entries. We would be extremely grateful if you could help spread the word or even offer us suggestions for the festival.
Please refer to the website http://voicesfromthewaters.com/ or any further information. It would be great for any help you could offer.
best of luck,
peace,
siddharth
Have anyone thought, seen what happens to the water, we use daily ?
Those long showers, kitchen …
I went to the Bay areas water station in Sunnyvale, what an extensive process … I plan to write detailed article.
We need to create more awareness.
Its our time and and our call.
Dear Shekhar,
There are many of us in the rural areas of India working on this issue of Water, and support your effort to highlight the reality of what it is going to be a few years from now. We are the doomsday prophets! Keep going…Leaders are lonely people.
Water…………. our most precious earthly “gift”. We will perish in 3 days without it! Everyone please realize that in our ignorance, we have failed. Decades of failure, in not reminding ourselves that water IS sacred. Ok, admit this fault, we are weak. However, the crisis exists. We have polluted (yes, you and I) poisoned, contaminated, destroyed much of the fresh water supply. Let’s move on. Awareness empowers. There is a means, a REAL solution that God has given to mankind in the midst of this crisis. It is the element of iron, the 3rd most pervasive element in the universe. We must understand that TO CLEAN our water is key! Iron ; chemically most powerful. It IS a disinfectant of high pedigree. Hit the internet…. become aware. This knowledge will empower you. Research “ferrate”. God’s gift to heal the waters. “Drink it up” Ron Stone
Water…………. our most precious earthly “gift”. We will perish in 3 days without it! Everyone please realize that in our ignorance, we have failed. Decades of failure, in not reminding ourselves that water IS sacred. Ok, admit this fault, we are weak. However, the crisis exists. We have polluted (yes, you and I) poisoned, contaminated, destroyed much of the fresh water supply. Let’s move on. Awareness empowers. There is a means, a REAL solution that God has given to mankind in the midst of this crisis. It is the element of iron, the 3rd most pervasive element in the universe. We must understand that TO CLEAN our water is key! Iron ; chemically most powerful. It IS a disinfectant of high pedigree. Hit the internet…. become aware. This knowledge will empower you. Research “ferrate”. God’s gift to heal the waters. “Drink it up” Ron Stone
Dear Shekhar,
What is the source of your data about water utilization? Now that the trip has been completed, we need to ask some important questions. Was the trip useful apart from making the DVD? I did not see any data that has been collected in the website. Is the data useful for making decisions by the governments/NGOs and general public? I don’t see the video available in the site. Nor any research and analysis findings on this website. Without these information it would be a wasted effort.
Dear Naresh Chalimeda, the traveller works with Arghyam, one of the most active water organizations in India and one that is actively promoting water conservation and harvesting in villages al over India.The source of the data is from many available sites on the net, and statistics available from Arghyam. The motorcycle trip was not only a joyride but also a part of documenting what was going on in each village through first hand experience for Arghyam to evaluate for further action. The DVD is for awareness, which is as important as action. Please visit the Arghyam site for more info,
shekhar
your blog is very comfortable