New Delhi: “Everything starts and ends with water for us,” said Aruna Das, a resident of Amtula Village in the Lakhimpur Assam District.
DaS is a 44-year-old Dalit farmer who learns the importance of water and his rights to it in a difficult way.
The flood in 2017, was caused by the Hulu Ranganadi river dam which passed his village, destroying everything behind him – property, livestock, plants.
It pollutes their drinking water and throws sand in the fields so that they make it not in use.
“We still can’t grow plants correctly,” said Das.
Driven to poverty more than before, the watershed began to educate himself about water.
How to save it, manage it and use it.
He was trained by people’s actions for development, an NGO and Indian Oxfam partner.
Das get a woman from her village located in the Mahakali river basin to form a group of water users.
Together, they raised their voices to the problem of flooding.
“We ensure that the river embankment is built and now people in our community are aware of the value of every drop of water,” said the watershed.
As part of a group of water users, women in the village met with local officials and initiated the process of getting the right water connection in the village.
Five households have gotten water supply and the rest will get soon.
The Water User Group also educates women about various schemes and government rights that meet the requirements.
According to Oxfam India, from April to June 2020, 344 families of the 12 project villages in Mahakali Basin, have been involved with local administration and leveraged resources worth Rs 11.6 lakh from five government schemes to absorb Covid locked shocks.
In addition, more than 3,600 women have increased knowledge about their rights and have improved their skills and influence in discussion of water resources in groups.
For advocacy work, the watershed is made of ‘water champions’ by the UN Development Program in June.
Like a watershed, Ramandeep Kaur, 26, is another championship.
His advocacy works in his village Palia Kalan in the Lakhimpur Kheri district in Uttar Pradesh educating women on how to save water and handle water contamination.
“The biggest change that occurs with awareness is that we now know water is not limited.
Previously, we used to think we could use as much water as we want, but we can’t,” said Kaur who taught women in his village to use water wisely.
For example, don’t let the tap run while washing clothes and plates, turning off the water pump at the right time to prevent abundance, and reuse the waste water for watering plants.
Kaur, along with other women in the village, forming a water management committee that sees the problem is water contamination.
Nullah nearby seeps the industrial effluent to the country used for their village for their needs.
“As a result, people continue to fall sick.
Sometimes with skin problems or with gastric problems.
Whatever the villagers do to get medical treatment,” Kaur said.
All women in his village took this matter to the district judge who intervened and now worked to prevent Nullah pollute ground water.
UNDP turned 40 women from all over India as champions of water.
Of this 40 people, Das, Kaur and Jugoda, other community workers in the Lakhim district in Assam, have been trained by the Oxfam India project under the Trosa Project (South Asian Transboundary River).
It works in the poorest Riparian community in Saralbhanga, a lower Brahmaputra and Sharda river basins are spread in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal with the aim of reducing poverty by increasing public access and control of water resources.
“We are working on three rivers in India – Sharda, Saral Bhanga and Brahmaputra – and in 65 villages located along their banks,” said Shobhit Chepe, Pressure, Trosa.
These areas do not have access to water resources.
“For example, in Pional Kalan above, women have never been part of the decision making on water even though they most often use it.
Now, women are the main responsibility holders there, receive a call of how, when and where using water resources Limited, “Chepe added.