Vinod Kothari

Churerdhar, a mountain village in Uttarakhand suffered from a lack of safe potable water. Here, hand pumps used to dry up in the summer and a natural spring 1.5 km away from the cluster of homes that housed 300 people, was the only other source of water. That was its plight in 2002. 

Existing water sources 

Gharats are water-powered grinding mills found in Himalayan villages. Though these are owned and managed by individuals, they are considered to be the common property of the entire village.

More erratic and extreme rainfall events leading to longer dry periods sometimes and high water availability at other times in the hilly region of Uttarakhand. Owing to the longer dry periods, available water sources are no longer sufficient, and groundwater levels drop even further, resulting in longer distances to fetch drinking water.

In 2001, the Himmothan Pariyojana (HMP) programme was initiated to work on rural development issues in collaboration with the Government of Uttarakhand, as formalised by a 10-year MoU between the two in 2004.