Chicu Lokgariwar

"Just having the people of Delhi look at their water meters everyday will enable the city to deal with its current water supply", said K.P Singh.

He should know.

The people I was listening to challenged all my prejudices about government officials' tendencies to bury their heads in the sand.

The Koel Karo Jan Sanghatana was awarded the first Bhagirath Award during the India Rivers Week 2014 for protecting the Koel and the Karo rivers.

We sat on a charpoy in Agwaanpur and talked of flood warning systems for the Ramganga. Of all the places I had visited, Agwaanpur, probably due to its urban nature, was the only one which boasted a rudimentary system. The police would inform the Maulvi that a flood release was expected, and he would repeat the warning using the  loudspeaker normally used to summon people to prayer.

"Clean water", emphasized the woman. "'Close to the house. Whenever it is needed", she added. She was speaking at a village meeting organised to determine what was needed to make the village water secure. The discussions had begun with an attempt to define water security.

There is nothing special about Mahewa. It is a small ward in the town of Gorakhpur, far enough on the outskirts of the city, and it hasn't seem to have made up its mind on whether it is a city or a village. Part of it is in the form of 'bungalow colonies', part in the form of small farms. Small share-autos service the area.

'Sabarmati ke Sant, tune kar diya kamaal'. Oh Saint of Sabarmati, you have done wonders' goes the popular song. Today, it is the Sabarmati herself who is supposed to be the subject of  a miracle.

Bihar is no stranger to floods. The high-volume, high-velocity floods caused by large infrastructure projects regularly disrupt lives and decimate entire villages. This is the oft-repeated narrative, one of a helpless population as victims.

"The men say that the well is perennial", I said. "Do you use it"? "No", replied the women. "It might be perennial, but the water is unclean. Our dals don't cook, and there are sometimes worms in the water".

When Basanti Devi entered the village of Bachwadi in Uttarakhand's Takula block on one of her routine visits, she knew that something was wrong. Instead of the normal hustle, groups of men stood about talking quietly.