CSR: Joining Hands To Work Towards Water Abundance
Today city folks have come out in large to work shoulder-to-shoulder with villagers for a few hours. Aamir Khan, Founder of Paani Foundation, recently appealed to students and urban citizens to become ‘Jalmitras’ to join this effort against drought. People have signed up on work in villages with villagers on 1st May which is Maharashtra Day.
“I would like to appeal all the young of Maharashtra to join us in the cause to make Maharashtra drought free. On the occasion of Maharashtra Day let’s celebrate it with Mahashramdan and bridge the rural-urban divide. Till now we have 1 lakh registration on Jalmitra app & we are expecting more support from all over Maharashtra. I am grateful to Symbiosis University for giving me the platform to connect with students & youth,” said Aamir Khan, Founder, Paani Foundation.
The Satyamev Jayate Water Cup is a competition held each year between villages to see which village does the best work in watershed management. People are taught the science of watershed management, and villagers then plan and execute various watershed management works in their village with help from the government and NGOs.
In the first two years, around 1,500 villages participated in the Water Cup creating potential storage capacity of nearly 10,000 crore litres of water. In this, the third year of the competition, over 4,000 villages in 75 talukas and 24 districts of Maharashtra are participating. The top three prizes at the state level given to competing villages are Rs. 75 lakhs, Rs. 50 lakhs and Rs. 40 lakhs respectively. The top village in each taluka gets a prize of Rs. 10 lakhs.
Today’s ‘Mahashramdaan’ saw 75 talukas across Maharashtra, of the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup, come together. Thousands of citizens, both urban and rural joined hands, to work together for water abundance. Aamir Khan said he believes that this partnership between rural and urban will not only help the villagers but the city folk as well, to come closer to understanding our farmer friends, and knowing where our food, water and labour comes from. It will help to bridge the chasm between cities and villages, and go a long way towards creating a more equitable and humane relationship between the two. As individuals, we should join the fight against water scarcity, and help work towards a prosperous and happy Maharashtra.
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The CSR Journal Team
