The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Rural water crisis blamed on neglect of waterbodies

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 28, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Rural water crisis blamed on neglect of waterbodies

Staff Reporter

— Photo: R. Ragu

ENLIGHTENMENT: MSSW research scholar S. Lalitha (right) interacting with participants at a meeting on ‘Water Governance and Community Organisation’ in Chennai on Wednesday.

CHENNAI: The role of social workers in creating awareness about management of water resources in rural areas was underlined at a meeting organised by Madras School of Social Work (MSSW) here on Wednesday.

Titled ‘Water Governance and Community Organisation’, the session highlighted the mismanagement of natural resources in villages, resulting in drought. The need to create awareness about community participation among various stakeholders such as elected representatives, residents and voluntary organisations was also stressed.

Pointing to the neglect of water resources in rural areas, a research scholar at MSSW S. Lalitha recalled an incident in a village near Minjur where a group of youngsters opposed the cleaning of a water body by volunteers as they were using it as a playground. Though the government provided drinking water through overhead tanks to rural areas, several villages across the state faced crisis due to the neglect of water bodies, she added.

The session also listed out the responsibilities of social workers in empowering the rural community through various training programmes and sensitise them about the conservation of water resources.

MSSW faculty member G. Vijayaram said college students and teachers from city institutions were enlightened periodically about the need for water preservation and means to educate people about the sustainable management of water bodies.

There was also a plan to study the scenario of water resources management in the state, he added.

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