Powerful Resolution for Water and Drought Issues on the Way: JalTara, an Art of Living Initiative

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], January 10 (ANI/PRNewswire): Over 54 per cent of India's population is under extreme water stress in different ways, such as poor land productivity for farmers, migrations, poor soil health, and depleted quality of crops dependent on water. Rainwater is the ultimate solution to bring India out of this crisis, if not wholly, but marginally.
India is a diverse country, not only based on the caste and religion of its people but also due to the variability of regions. For instance, the 2 00,000 hectares of sugarcane crop damage due to heavy rainfall in Maharashtra clearly illustrates farmers' plight in rural areas. This diversity can resolve flood and drought issues in rural areas. It can be possible if many simple water projects are implemented efficiently instead of a few complex water projects.
JalTara - the solution to water issues in India
JalTara, an initiative under the direction of Sri Sri Ravishankar, the founder of Art of Living, is sure to change the fate of farmers and villagers of India with an ulterior motive of terminating existing drought and flood problems in Indian villages. While it laid its foundation back in 2021, the mission includes installing 'recharge pits' at the lowest point in every possible land in the villages of India to allow rainwater to bypass the topmost layer of the soil and directly flow underground. These 4x4 feet wide and 6-7 feet deep pits are filled with rocks, pebbles, and sand.
JalTara: New-found destiny for India's farmers and villagers - a meticulous approach
The earlier clogged rainwater on the land will now bypass the topsoil and get stored in the pits formed underground. There won't be a hanging menace of floods on the villagers, and this will prevent soil erosion and crop damage to a large extent. With good-quality soil, the advantages of good crops and better land productivity arise since farmers can produce various crops in different seasons. Steady progress can be seen in Pan-India in terms of small and standardized projects about water reservation.
Implementation of JalTara Project - villagers and farmers as the backbone of the mission
As the founder of Art of Living, Sri Sri Ravishankar rightly opined, "When you make service your sole purpose of life, it eliminates fear, brings focus in our mind, purposefulness in action, and long-term joy." The immense impact of the JalTara project has been possible due to the relentless efforts and determination of the on-field Sevaks relentlessly working for months with significant contributions from the villagers' end. The farmers volunteered through shramdaan to fill the pits and provided valuable resources like sand, pebbles, stones, etc.
The pre and post-project impact were analyzed demographically by the esteemed team of Geologists and experts deployed by Art of Living using photos/geotags and various scientific measures such as the water table.
Impeccable achievements of the project so far, many more to come
Proven on the ground, 20000 recharge pits were made & 40000 trees have been planted in 50 villages of Jalna, Maharashtra. The project aims to build 50 million pits reaching 100,000 villages, recharging 30 trillion litres of water per year across India in just five years from now. The project's goal is to address the water and educate the villagers about the long-term value of water rejuvenation.
A 6-month part of the project included four months of villager education and data gathering and two months of mechanized pit digging before monsoon to ensure maximum impact through the rainy months in rainwater conservation and flood deprivation.
JalTara is a vision augmented by Art of Living to increase India's water storage by trillions per year and diminish the current water crisis that our country is facing. The start of this dream has already been validated with exemplary results. The relentless efforts of the Sevaks at Art of Living have helped achieve a few litres, and there is more on the path to come.
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