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SEWA - Campaigns
The Water Campaign
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For SEWA’s rural members in particular, lack
of drinking water, fuel and fodder are issues which
have a direct bearing on their employment, well-being
and very survival. This is especially so because most
of our rural members live in areas with little or no
rainfall and hence perennial drought and deset conditions.
In many districts the water table is as low as 900 feet,
sometimes even more. And most of the villages are "no-source"
villages. In some districts like Kheda, there is severe
water logging. Our rural members have been leading the
campaign for water since 1995. |
Achievements
of SEWA’s Water Campaign
From
1995, the start of our water campaign, to the end
of 1999, we have undertaken the following activities
:
- In
Surendrangar district, 80 rainwater harvesting tanks
and in Banaskantha district 60 such tanks have been
constructed.
- Village
women of Sabarkantha district have had hand pump
repair training. With this training, women have
taken full responsibility for repair in eleven villages.
The Gujarat Water Supply Board has invited women
to take up the responsibility of hand pump repairing
in an entire taluka of the district.
- We
have been requested by the Government of Gujarat
to construct 2,000 roof rainwater haresting tanks
in Surendranagar district.
- A
video on rainwater tanks was made by Video SEWA.
- In
Ahmedabad district, after continuous dialogue with
the local authorities, piped water has been reached
to villages like Roopgadh.
- Kunvarben
of Surendranagar district and Shantaben of Sabarkantha
district participated in an international conference
on water and sanitation, vision 21.
- Women
from different rural districts learned from and
about each others’ water – related activities.
- Surendranagar
district was selected for running local water supply
by the government Water Supply Board.
- SEWA
helped the Banaskantha DWCRA Mahila SEWA Association
(BDMSA) develop plastic-lined ponds for water conservation.
Technical support and training was provided by the
Foundation for Public interest (FPI). Now local
women manage their own village ponds, including
all book-keeping and accounts.
- In
8 villages of Banaskantha district, women have formed
their own water committees. Through these they undertake
contour binding, building ckeckdams, village ponds
repair and other water conservation related construction.
- In
drought conditions, women have successfully mobilised
and pressed for tankers to supply water to the villages.
Where underground rain water tanks have been constructed,
the tankers fill water in these, thus making effective
use of the newly developed infrastructure and conserving
water, as it is not lost through evaporation or
leakage.
- Village
women have pressed their case for involvement, participation
and representation in all waterrelated boards and
committees. In a well – attended public meeting
or ‘sammelan’ they shared their experiences
with the Chief Minister of Gujarat, other government
officials and other women like themselves. As a
result, they are now consulted and involved much
more in all water management in the state.
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