WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE

Edition-1

It can go down as one of the wonders of independent India. The 1 lakh check dams that the Gujarat government, local people & NGOs have built in the past decade as part of a statewide campaign launched by the then chief minister Keshubhai Patel in 1999, & then taken to a missionary level by his successor, Narendra Modi, has created something that gives hope to the entire country. (Check dams are barriers built on shallow rivers, or even streams, for water harvesting). The message: If Gujarat can bring up the once depleting water table in the state, the rest of India, which is struggling to cope with water crisis-created by overuse of water & the lack of water table recharge measure-can also do it.