Fwd: ...Aache gaon..

[Sangram Kondel]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "chemburDust" <chemb...@gmail.com>
Date: May 15, 2015 5:22 PM
Subject: Fwd: ...Aache gaon..
To: "Chandra Shekar" <chemb...@gmail.com>
Cc:

Om Sri Sairam

​​

​

​
The above scene

​is a part

of the daily routine in many
water starved villages in India.

​​

Fetching water is their full time occupation.

Even as their counterparts in the cities
do

​'​

WhatsApp forwards

​'​

till they drop dead,

these poor souls yank out WhatsDown

​looking like water

​

in the

far flung Wells miles away. Like the above.

The numberwalas in Govt captured it in stats -
"Only 35 per cent of Indians in rural areas have
access to potable water within their homes,
while people living in 22 per cent of rural households
have to travel more than half a kilometre
in search of potable water,

​(​

according to the 2011 census

​)​

."

We too had a first hand experience of
this WhatsDown moment.

​The ​

29th Apr 2015  was like any other Seva day

for our small team of three from Mumbai

​going to Solapur -

​ ​

​Kawlewadi

​ village​

f​or a water project​​

​,

till we heard about

​ one​

Aache gaon

​ from another team member​

.​

​The village was

​ shown

in a Marathi TV channel the day before.

We heard that the lady Sarpanch of the village

broke down 

​

​during the interview 

capturing their horror story​

due to  acute scarcity of water.
The other women of the village

also joined her in highlighting the misery.

It deeply hurt us

​when we visualised the scene

and our helplessness was palpable.

​M​

any such villages in Maharashtra

​

​suffer
​

with

​almost ​

n

​o

​ major​

rescue attempts in sight.​

​Our job-dictated-weekend-visits

​have limitations

though we try our best to act as fillers here and there.

On 

​reaching​

Solapur we enquired about this village

from our Sai brothers who came to receive us.

They mentioned that the village 

​was​

about 23 kms

​ away​

and not one of our sponsored villages.

We said that if it was not al

r​

eady one
we would rather add it now

​;​

but we shall certainly visit this village

​ Aache gaon​

​before we go to our planned site​

.

​Meandering through the rough terrain

we reached the village around 11.30 am .

The Upa Sarpanch and other villagers surrounded us

and narrated their water woes non stop...

​​

​Aache gaon sign board and the villagers narrating their woes to us​..

​As compassionate hearing is the first step of Seva

we were all ears 

​as​

the villagers

​ went on and on​

..

Hiding the fact that we are more or less as c

​​

lueless

as the villagers, we nevertheless asked them to

show the existing water bodies..

A short tour helped us to figure out the existing

lake in the village that was fully silted and

​with almost no​

 capacity to hold water.

​​

​The dry lake full of silt... can

​'t​

hold water...​

​our team surveying the spot for de-silting​

We chalked out a plan with the Sai brothers

and initiated action on the spot

​ to provide some relief
with tanker water on alternate days to begin with

​​

​     ​

​

​Atlast the water tankers started

​ distributing water ​

after Sai Bhajan..​

​and extensive

 desilting of the lake 

​to start forthwith​

​enabling it to​

 hold most of the evasive rainwater
in the village itself

​

​,​

percolating down

​ to the water table​

.

​

​

​The technical experts on call concurred with our views. 

​

Little efforts like this go a long way
to provide relief however small.
All that the villagers need is three/four
pots of water in a day for which they walk miles.

​Many ​

Mega projects only provide career

​ prospects​

to activists
and create controversy gobbling airtime of channels
that thrive in the misery circuit.

​Nothing tangible comes out.​

​If every NGO sponsors a couple of villages

and restore dying water bodies, the evaporating

rainwater would find asylum and
make life throb again in villages.​

​

​Technical knowledge is not the issue.
​

If we learn to

​ ​

​pray

​erfully​

​

empathise with these poor folks

​ ​

,
the right solutions

​will ​

spring

naturally from the depth of the heart,
as they are

​ ​

instinct driven and
not

​ so much​

intellect driven.

​It happens for sure unless

we are spiritually inert and lack faith.​

After a Bhajan session and prayers​

​

the water tanker was inaugurated.

The lake will soon be desilted and hold 

abundant rainwater.

The channel which 

​prime-timed​

their misery

may or may not cover this. No need.

After all, we the low key sevaks
don't make good prime time story.

But the media-unfriendly that we are

feel blissful, if our little efforts

save even one poor woman's long haul
to fetch water from miles away.

For us She is

​'​

Mother India

​'​

in Misery.

And we continued our journey

towards Kawle wadi for yet another battle

​as scheduled

​...

​

​

​Find water. Give life. Before its too late.​

​

Sairam


​