Saalumarada Thimmakka (Pic: SH)
Rarely do we leave the world richer while dealing with an emptiness within.
A childless couple, instead of brooding over what life has not given, leaves behind a living green heritage this world had never heard of. Continue reading
When I wrote about Persian wheel recently, the headline carried a question mark.
That’s because the wheel was still turning somewhere, keeping a fiction of hope alive. That the last surviving Persian wheel in Kolar in Karnataka would somehow clatter along. That it would somehow continue to draw water slowly while leaving the groundwater table unharmed. That it would continue to remind us that the secret of a water-secure future lies a simple realisation that we have to respect the bountiful Mother Earth as much as we enjoy her generosity.But this time, it’s a full stop.
All of us know that an ocean has an infinite number of drops. But few of us see an ocean in a drop of water.
Chikmagalur-based Farmland Rainwater Harvesting Systems (FLRWHS) is one such organisation out to save the precious rainwater to tackle acute water shortage in various states. Through its innovative RWH technology, it has helped rural and urban areas with improved yield levels of bore wells which were either dry, or low-yielding.
Safe drops for children at Allampura Government School, Karnataka.
A rainwater harvesting model on the move.
Hundreds of government schools have benefitted through assured drinking water supply and quality water for cooking midday meals. The children have access to fluoride- and iron-free water for four months in a year. So far, the organisation has recharged over 3,000 bore wells and installed more than 10,000 rooftop rainwater harvesting filters.
Contact Vijay Raj at vijay.shisodya@gmail.com; +91 9448130524.
Some smiles can never be forgotten. More so if they emerge out of tormented souls that saw dear ones being washed away by flash floods, houses being submerged, fertile fields stripped, and little children turned to starve.
Many parts of North Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh suffered a horrific tragedy in October 2009. In North Karnataka alone, nearly 230 people lost their lives, 6.55 lakh houses collapsed, and over 4,290 villages were affected in 75 taluks across 14 districts, of which 346 villages needed complete rehabilitation. Lakhs of people sought shelter in relief camps. They still do.
Back in Bangalore, “resort politics” had peaked. The dissident faction of the then Yeddyurappa government, led by the Reddy brothers, was holing up in high-end resorts in Goa and Hyderabad busy playing political ping-pong. The miserable CM was twiddling his thumbs.
And, when I visited six flood-ravaged villages across Koppal and Bellary districts a few weeks after the tragedy, there were these divine smiles, too.
(Pics: SH)
ENDLESSLY GREEN 