The region also has no direct water supply through the Narmada PipeLine and is dependent on borewells or water supply through tankers by the government. The Govt. supply is once in two days during extreme dry seasons and is insufficient in meeting the families’ needs. Currently, people purchase water (Rs 600 for 3500 litres) through private tankers and this need is going to increase with the onset of summer.

Given the remoteness of the location, the vulnerability of the communities in the region and Samerth’s presence and co-ordination with the locals including the authorities, they have reached out to Arghyam for financial support as well as to leverage other resources that can enable them to be more effective in the relief work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the current project, Samerth will provide essential items that are not included in the Govt. supplies for BPL/APL families which includes a kit worth 1162/- per HH. (food items + hygiene materials – soaps) and also disseminate information on maintaining social distance and hygiene in the community.

The post Response for COVID-19 in Bhachau block (Kutch) in Gujarat appeared first on Arghyam.

Samerth and Arghyam have partnered since 2007 to provide safe drinking water to people living in remote hamlets of Kutch district. This project was a sub-set of a larger project in order to work intensively in a few hamlets to create model Watsan villages. The project provided families in this region with safe and sustainable drinking water by promoting conjunctive use by developing local water sources and accessing Narmada water wherever feasible. A key objective of the project was to promote safe sanitation practices and toilets were constructed and hygiene messages were imparted.

The post Ensuring safe and sustainable drinking water needs for all in five vandhs of Rapar block in Kutch district, Gujarat appeared first on Arghyam.

The project worked predominantly in areas occupied by the Koli tribals. They live in scattered hamlets that are cut off from the main revenue village and lack access to basic infrastructure facilities. There is a high degree of distress migration from these hamlets. People did not have access to drinking water sources, especially in summer months and during droughts and were forced to dig a hole in the river bed called ‘veerda’ and wait for it to fill up with water.

This project sought to make a beginning in tackling this by reducing the levels of salinity in water. Through this project, construction and revival of water harvesting systems, provision of water testing facilities and reduction in salinity were ensured. Water sources for drinking and bathing and livestock were also separated and basic hygiene practices were improved. This helped improve the quality of life of the people and helped reduce distress migration.

The post Regenerating drinking water and reducing salinity in the little Rann of Rapar block of Kutch (Phase I) appeared first on Arghyam.

The families in Kutch district living below poverty line often lack safe, good quality drinking water. In Phase I of this project, Samerth provided drinking water facilities and reduced the salinity content of the lands of poor and marginalized communities. The project was cost effective, transparent, systematic and open to feedback and suggestions.

Phase II was planned to deepen these activities, so that the effectiveness of the water committees was increased in terms of parameters like water quality and water testing facilities. People should have access to water, but also to good quality water and water governance. The key objectives were to leverage water harvesting systems through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), regenerate traditional water management and conservation systems, enable water committees to fix non-democratic, non-consultative decision-making processes, and address the inequitable distribution of available water.

The post Leveraging NREGA effectively for meeting drinking water needs of the poor and unreached in Rapar block of Kutch district (Phase II) appeared first on Arghyam.