NGO takes on Vasant Kunj’s water problems

NEW DELHI, February 21: The residents of Vasant Kunj should now have a reason to be happy. A non-governmental organisation, Partners in Prosperity, has taken up their cause improving the water situation in the area. As a part of the National Environment Awareness Campaign of the Ministry of Environment and Forest, it plans to analyse the existing water conditions and work for the implementation of remedial measures by launching an awareness campaign.

It was with this objective in mind that the Partners in Prosperity organised a drawing competition for the children of the Vasant Kunj called Save water and make Vasant Kunj a happy place to live’. All resident welfare associations were contacted and the schools in the area informed. But only six children turned up in the first two hours. “The idea is to make the people aware and to get them to participate in the movement,” says Tasaduk Ariful Hussain of Partners in Prosperity, who has conducted a detailed study on the water situation of the area.

According to him, the supply of the water in the area falls short by as much as 8,00,000 gallons per day and there was an average of 15 per cent water loss daily during transportation and storage. “And there is little help that one gets from the government,” says Hussain, who claims to have suffered a major disappointment because of the Delhi Jal Board while he was conducting his research. The research covers the various geographical and geological reasons for the present water condition.

Says Hussain: “One of the reasons for the crisis is the centralisation of the entire system. Partners in Prosperity with resident welfare associations, aims to get the system de-centralised, so that the supply is handled by local associations and the management can be made more effective”.