This article in Marathi from the magazine Anubhav titled 'Thembe thembe samruddhi' meaning 'Prosperity with every drop' highlights the situation of acute scarcity of water in the state of Maharashtra and argues that this has been a barrier to the progress of the state leading to dire poverty and deprivation.
However, the authors argue that this situation can change through awareness, community building and cooperation at the village level and encouraging practices for harvesting the available water from the rains.
The article describes the positive experiences of a number of villages in Maharashtra that have tried to successfully overcome acute water scarcity by using innovative rainwater harvesting techniques through community initiative and cooperation leading to a complete change in the situation. Thus, saving and utilising the available water resources diligently has led to prosperity and self sufficiency in the villages through availability of more irrigated land and adequate water for agriculture.
A copy of the article in Marathi can be downloaded from below: