British Asian Trust Director Hitan Mehta accompanied HRH The Prince of Wales on a visit to see how water conservation work is changing the lives of people surviving in the Rajasthan desert during the recent Royal trip to India. He recounts the experience here.
Learning that women in this desert region cover a distance three times around the globe just to collect water made me realise the enormity of the problem. That should not be the case in this day and age. During our visit, we saw how access to water transforms people’s lives and how it is achieved in the villages where our partners Jal Bhagirathi Foundation (JBF) and Wells for India are at work.
Support from The British Asian Trust and The Prince’s Charities has enabled the Jal Bhagirathi Foundation and Wells for India to develop two villages in Rajasthan’s Thar Desert as models for traditional water harvesting, adapting to climate change, and best practice in waste water and solid waste management. At JBF’s water resource centre outside Jodphur, HRH The Prince of Wales met people from the two model villages who came to demonstrate the impact made by the project. Using maps laid out on the floor, they pointed out how access to water and sanitation had changed their villages… and their lives.
School children visiting JBF’s water resource centre displayed drawings they created after learning about water conservation there. JBF brings villages together to find solutions for developing and managing their ecological resources, especially water. That’s why the approach is so good. The people are doing it themselves; JBF and Wells for India are just facilitating it.
After our visit to the water resource centre, we drove to the nearby village of Tolesar Charman where traditional water harvesting methods are in use. HRH The Prince of Wales was welcomed with garlands, music and dancing. It was amazing to see the people’s excitement at having water in their village. It made me very conscious about my own use of water. The work underway by our partners JBF and Wells for India is incredible and deserves support. They should be immensely proud. HRH The Prince of Wales was very pleased to see the difference that had been made in the region and keen to find out what more can be done.
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