"Pani, hum aur Anupam" - A talk on rainwater harvesting by Anupam Mishra on NDTV

Source: NDTV

“Pani, Hum Aur Anupam” brings into light hard hitting facts centered around water management issues. The television show starts with the anchor presenting the common water problems faced by people in the rural and urban area of India. Highlighting the role of women in fetching water from long distances in rural areas, water wars resulting from limited and intermittent water supplied at odd hours of the day, the growing use of bottled water, the anchor sets a background to the talk by Anupam Mishra.

Anupam Mishra, a Gandhian, environmentalist and water conservationist works with people at the grassroots level in rural India and says that he still knows very little about water.  The 30 minutes talk by Mr. Mishra, followed by discussion with the audience covers the following issues: shortage of water supply, low price paid by consumers for water that is consumed by them, over exploitation of river Yamuna, dying lakes, rainwater harvesting and importance of understanding the geological features of rocks that help to retain and purify water.

He pieces together anecdotes on the way water is managed in dry regions of Rajasthan and acknowledges that traditional rainwater harvesting techniques that are successful even today.

These ancient physical structures built to conserve water were made by people who have not had the privilege of going to school but knew the best way to manage water resource. By putting the issues of rainwater harvesting, traditional knowledge, drying up of lakes and dying rivers, he conveys the message that we must be conscious and cautious about the way, we are governing water.

In the final part of the talk, he sheds light on an ancient tattoo on water that people used to make on their arms and chest. He goes on to explain in detail about the tattoo, which not only highlighted the significance of water for life but also how important it is to protect, conserve and value each drop of water.