PUNE: While
children
seemed most enthusiastic about the techniques used to
conserve water
, villagers competing in the past two editions of the Water Cup have managed to create 1,368 crore litre
water-storage capacity
,
Paani Foundation
announced at a news conference held in the city.
The foundation will hold this year’s competition awards ceremony at Balewadi Sports Complex on August 6. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, along with actor Aamir Khan and film director
Kiran Rao, who initiated the foundation, will be present at ceremony.
“We focused on water conservation because of the importance of the issue in Maharashtra. There is a large area to work around here, especially given the drought situation in the state over the past couple of years,” says Satyajit Bhatkal, CEO of Paani Foundation.
At the first Water Cup, the foundation selected villages in three talukas in the state. Contestants were required to construct infrastructure for water conservation in their villages.
While the organization does not provide funds to the villages, it does impart technical knowledge through experts and online material, including a mobile application and a website. The villagers then use community labour and largely local material to construct the facility. Villages not part of the contest have also used the available online literature for water conservation projects, the foundation claimed.
A village in the Satara district was the inaugural winner of the Water Cup, receiving a grant of Rs50 lakh. This year, the contest was expanded, with villages from 30 talukas in the state applying for the competition. The organizers give away about Rs4 crore as prize money to the top three winners as well as the winner in each taluka. Between April and May, the villages had to build their facilities and were adjudged by a group of experts. The organizers are impressed with the community spirit and women empowerment initiatives that were visible thanks to the contest.
“I remember going to a village where women do not generally leave their houses due to social customs. Our team trained the villagers, including the husband of one of the women. He helped his wife get involved in the shramdaan to construct the facility.,” said Rao, who has cofounded the foundation.
The organizers stated that the per-capita income in some villages has increased because of water conservation efforts inspired by the contest.
“The children can use a hydrometer or look at and deduce from topographical maps. They have also participated to build check-dams and other infrastructure,” said Avinash Pol, the foundation’s project director.
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