Jalmitra campaign to be a unique statewide volunteer drive for a drought free Maharashtra
by Suman Gupta
Mumbai,23 March 2018: Mumbai: Underlining its commitment towards making Maharashtra drought-free through a people’s movement, Paani Foundation launched its statewide campaign – ‘JalMitra’ on the occasion of ‘ World Water Day’. The initiative was announced by Kiran Rao, Founder Paani Foundation along with Satyajit Bhatkal, CEO, Paani Foundation.
The ‘JalMitra’ initiative is a platform that enables anyone who wishes to participate in the movement for a drought free Maharashtra to register as a ‘JalMitra’ (water friend) via a weblink https://jalmitra.paanifoundation.in. The form gives volunteers three kinds of activities they can participate in: Shramdan (voluntary manual labour) on 1st May to build watershed structures; donations to Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana which is providing machinery support to villages and a more detailed volunteer engagement. The flagship activity of ‘JalMitra’ is the Shramdaan on 1st May, Maharashtra Divas, which will be held both in the morning and in the evening in hundreds of villages all over Maharashtra.
The ‘JalMitra’ initiative is being launched on the eve of the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup 2018. The competition which begins on 8th April 2018 is a contest between villages for watershed management and water conservation. 2018 marks the third edition of the Water Cup and has seen record breaking participation by nearly 6,000 villages from 75 talukas in 24 districts all over Maharashtra. The top three villages at the state level will be given cash prizes of Rs. 75 lakh, Rs. 50 lakh and Rs. 40 lakh respectively. In addition the top village in each taluka will get a prize of Rs. 10 lakh.
The Satyamev Jayate Water Cup 2016 and 2017 together saw the creation of water storage capacity of nearly 10,000 crore litres of water!
Paani Foundation also unveiled its new website www.paanifoundation.in. The website has access to a large number of Do It Yourself films on watershed management.
On this occasion Kiran Rao, Co-founder, Paani foundation said, “Paani Foundation’s journey has been one of a collaborative effort with people from every walk of life. In particular, the support of the Government of Maharashtra, led by the Chief Minister, Shri Devendra Fadnavis has been vital in the success of the Water Cup.
Speaking on the campaign, Satyajit Bhatkal, CEO, Paani Foundation said, “The thought behind launching the JalMitra campaign is to provide a platform to bridge the huge gap between city and village and to provide a simple, positive way for people in towns and cities to show their commitment to drought hit villages.
The duo also spoke about ‘Toofan Aalaya’ a show on Zee Marathi featuring Paani Foundation Co-Founder, Shri Aamir Khan and acclaimed actors Jitendra Joshi and Gitanjali Kulkarni. The show will highlight the story and struggles of heroic men, women and children in villages competing in the Water Cup.
