Jal Se Jalashay: Bringing people together to take action now

If someone says that Delhi’s air condition is at its worst, I will be easily convinced. But if someone even screams about a groundwater crisis, I will still take some time to believe. People often neglect the importance of groundwater since it’s not visible at the surface. But its impact is now gradually visible.

Delhi has one of the highest percentages of households with water pipelines among all the states in India. But award-winning water conservationist Rajendra Singh says, “when the source has no water, how will the tap produce water by itself”. Many of the citizens in the capital are already struggling with this crisis along with the pandemic.

Especially during the summer, people have to dig around 130 feet down to get the groundwater. And the depletion range is increasing year by year with the increase in demand. People hardly ever develop a sense of concern with experts’ figures and they always need visible proof to take action and understand the severity of the issue. That’s the reason why the Jal Se Jalashay campaign by Haiyya put together a narrative building team to bring awareness on groundwater crisis through narrating stories of individuals and communities that are facing the challenge currently.

Many of the water banks that were recharging the groundwater in the past were extinct due to building huge projects on it and now the main source of groundwater recharge is those deficient rain falls in the monsoon season.

Only when we all are aware and sensitive to the issue can we bring about change, either through public mobilisation or by challenging and changing government policies.

One thing that’s making everyone hopeful for the future is the initiation and participation of younger generations in the movement, who are being vocal about the issues that matter. We hope to continue fighting this battle against the water crisis in Delhi and bring people together to take action urgently.

By Gangchen. The article has been written as part of the Jal Se Jalshay, a community and youth-led campaign by Haiyya to address water crises in Delhi. Following the campaign on Twitter @JalSeJalashay.