Jakalbehn Dheora from Bhavnagar described how, by harvesting rainwater from their rooftops, they get clean drinking water. Much of the water that flows down the streets is collected and filtered into underground storage facilities and can be used for purposes other than drinking. Earlier, much of the water in the area was all saline since the region is close to the sea. "It's better than Bisleri,'' she quipped. Be it farmers from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat or even Tamil Nadu, water scarcity is something everyone dreads. With almost 10 crore people and six crore livestock over six states threatened by an impending drought this year too, most of the villagers present wondered what it would be like in the years to come if communities do not band together to tackle the problem. |