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Life in the Mahabubnagar District of Andhra Pradesh, south India is tough. It's a district that relies on agriculture, particularly the cultivation of paddy fields, but years of drought are taking their toll. As the ground dries up, so do the agricultural yields, and also the jobs. Dams are being constructed in the state, but the water is being diverted to the more affluent coastal areas, leaving the people of Mahabubnagar fighting to make a living. Many adults are having to move to cities such as Hyderabad or Bombay in search of work, at least until the drought eases. Children are tending to be left behind in the country with their grandparents to look after cattle, a trend which is impacting on school attendance and literacy. The drought is blamed on the widespread deforestation of the area: tree roots help retain water in the ground and when they photosynthesise trees emit water vapour which forms into clouds. Interestingly, the overall amount of rainfall has not fallen, but it is now concentrated on fewer days, which makes it more difficult for the ground to absorb water, particularly where there are less tree roots. As a result, groundwater tables have been falling year on year to the point where many wells, used for both drinking and irrigation, have dried up. WaterAid and its partner Research in Environment, Education and Development Society (REEDS) are tackling this problem by helping communities to collect rainwater, and by channelling wastewater back into the ground to recharge the water tables. The combination of the reduced demand for groundwater due to the availability of rainwater and the ground's absorption of wastewater is meaning that groundwater levels are rising again and wells that have run dry are again yielding water.
Eight year old Sureshkumer, lives and goes to school in Hasmabad village in Mahabubnagar. The Government constructed a borewell for the school some years ago which is situated just a few metres from the main school building. A couple of years ago the well ran dry due to the falling water table, leaving the school without a water source, so there is now little water available for washing, drinking and cleaning the latrines. "When we need water the school attendant has to carry it some distance from the other borewell in the village" says Sureshkumer.
Thanks to the work of masons trained by WaterAid/REEDS, helped by village volunteers, the school should again have its own water supply next summer after the monsoon rains in June. They are currently building three rainwater storage tanks, which will store water collected from the school's roof. WaterAid/REEDS have developed a filter system using sand and charcoal which means that water collected in this way is perfectly safe to drink. This technology is a practical response to the altered weather patterns in this region - it's a way of conserving water in a village where every drop is precious. Once the villagers start channelling wastewater back into the ground too, it is hoped the dried up well will also start yielding water again, meaning the school will have two sources of safe water nearby. The untouched people working in India's slums
Over 115,000 people live without clean water and sanitation in overcrowded, filthy conditions in Tiruchirapalli's slums. So when the local government made plans to develop infrastructure, WaterAid and three local partners negotiated projects in 100 slums. WaterAid educated communities, created a demand for water and sanitation and demonstrated how communities themselves could solve the water and sanitation problem. The communities were so inspired they formed water and sanitation federations, elected spokespeople and negotiated with government officials. The results have been astounding: communities now have the confidence to affect their own lives and have even loaned neighbouring slums funds at low interest to pay for projects. WaterAid's three-year targets were reached within one year and nearly 15,000 people had access to latrines, including child friendly toilets (pictured). Breaking caste barriers
Durga Rao, 23, a lower caste dalit, was trained by WaterAid's partner SVDS as the handpump mechanic in Seetanagaram village, Andhra Pradesh. SVDS helps solve communities' water and sanitation problems in a caste-sensitive way, raising the status of dalits by giving them essential skills. "Before we had the pump we used to get frequent diarrhoea. Sometimes we threw up." Durga says "I used to feel very inferior. I was afraid". When SVDS helped Durga access a government grant of 2600 rupees for a bicycle and toolkit things changed. "After learning mechanical skills I started talking to the upper-caste villagers", he continues. "When they installed a borewell I offered to help them. Some of them didn't want me to touch the well. But in the end they agreed." Raising the water table
The community from Surlavanipalem has constructed a huge rainwater catchment tank, which provides water for agriculture and has re-charged the water table enabling the village borehole to yield water again for the first time in years. Surla Appalanaidu who helped in its construction explains. "For the last ten years the rains have been very late and there has been no water to make the seeds grow. Last year there was not a drop of water here. Now this tank has enough water to irrigate 40 acres of land, to water vegetables and provide water for our cattle. "We can see from an open well that that the groundwater level has increased by over ten foot over a year due to the tank. There has been no rain for the last two months but there is still water here in the well."
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