FORCE » Events

Invitation to Dedication Ceremony of the JAL SANCHAY ABHIYAAN

Jyoti Sharma, President FORCE — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:43:49 +0000

Dear Jal Rakshaks

It gives me tremendous pleasure to invite you all for the Dedication Ceremony of the JAL SANCHAY ABHIYAAN – a movement to recharge approx 40 million liters approx. to Delhi’s groundwater using ONLY dried and abandoned tube wells.

This is yet another milestone achieved by JAL RAKSHAKs like you. Your leadership, initiative, commitment and attitude of enabling productive partnerships has helped turn discarded tube wells – an investment of Rs. 3-5 lakhs of public money – into PRODUCTIVE PUBLIC ASSETS. Instead of being symbols of a dead past, these tube wells will once again become symbols of a dynamic, resilient society

I hope you will be able to come for the Dedication Ceremony, Your presence will motivate all present to take charge of their lives and work towards a WATER SECURE future.

Thanks and regards

Jyoti Sharma

President, FORCE & Ashoka Fellow

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The Winds of Change in the Ministry of Water Resources!

Jyoti Sharma, President FORCE — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:32:40 +0000

The Winds of Change are whistling through the corridors of the Ministry of Water Resources (MOWR) – happily threatening to turn this staid, typical ministry into a vortex of new ideas, unconventional solutions and win-win partnerships.

All it took was a mild mannered, smiley-faced man who sometimes sounds more like a satsang guru (sermon priest) than a bureaucrat. The Jt. Secretary of the MOWR – Shri. RM Mishra – has been slowly but steadily opening up the doors of the ministry to positive minded community groups working on water issues. For the past two years, I have seen the ‘public’ being invited for seminars, workshops, intensive meetings – not just to sit and clap but also to share their ideas and action agendas. Of course, I’m sure, the other senior bureaucrats in the ministry and also the past and present Minister of WR are equally to be thanked for this change – I just hope they keep up this drive.

The 16^th of July ’09, I think, was a watershed in this journey. A Meeting without a name, without a pre-defined agenda, was held in the ministry.

The invitees – roughly 30 practitioners of water conserving community movements from different parts of the country
The broad objective – to create a forum for free interchange of ideas, email-ids, phone numbers and support groups.

The invitees included:

Religious groups that used religion to create mass movements to protect rivers and make water bodies
Poets and intellectuals
Youth groups
Media and web professionals
Unconventional water cleansing technology providers
Activists, and of course
FORCE!

What makes this a historic meeting is the fact that a government ministry created this forum for

Completely unrestrained expression,
Auto-evolving agenda, and
With an objective of creating an ever expanding river of water conservationists working in harmony with each other in their own unique ways.

The spread & power of the government coupled with the passion of the crusader – can change be far behind??

Some credit for these winds of change must go to FORCE as well. Not only has FORCE been a partner of the ministry in helping create the public interface, but we also pioneered the JAL RAKSHAK movement (a forum of community leaders working for the cause of water conservation).

Incidentally, the Jt. Secy. Mr RM Mishra – is a Special JAL RAKSHAK too!

May the tribe of JAL RAKSHAKs increase! Here’s your chance to jump on to this juggernaut – register yourself as a JAL RAKSHAK and be a part of the Great Indian Water Turn-Around!

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JAL RAKSHAK FORUM

Jyoti Sharma, President FORCE — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:28:52 +0000

To celebrate World Environment Day, Forum For Organized Resource Conservation and Enhancement (FORCE) – an NGO dedicated to the cause of Water Conservation- is organizing a One day workshop on June 6, 2009 from 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. at Institute of Social Sciences, 8, Nelson Mandela Marg. The workshop is titled:

COMMUNITY LEADERS IN RAINWATER HARVESTING

JAL RAKSHAKS TO CHART THE WAY FORWARD

The Workshop is being supported by Coca-Cola India. The agenda of this interactive workshop will be

1) Knowledge sharing with experts and Community leaders on Rainwater Harvesting Experiences

2) Capacity Building for Rainwater harvesting maintenance and ensuring its sustainability

And, perhaps most important,

3) Creating a JAL RAKSHAK FORUM which will act as a nucleus group to broad base adoption of Water Wise behaviours, practices and implementation of innovative water conservation solutions in their areas. This Forum will organize mass awareness activities, cultural programs and interaction with government bodies for water conservation. We hope that it will become a pressure group for mass adoption of Water Wise behaviours by all stakeholders and for policy change in the government.

A Directory of ‘JAL RAKSHAKS’ who participate in this workshop – printed and electronic – will be compiled and presented to the Chief Minister, and relevant administrative bodies and to all JAL RAKSHAKs. This directory will be a ready reference for government and citizens for taking advice on water related issues.

As a Community Leader, who has already done Rainwater Harvesting in his / her area, you have already proven that you are a JAL RAKSHAK. Let’s all, join hands to form a unified forum and be the fountainhead of a Water Conservation movement.

I request you to join us for this interactive workshop so that we can learn more from each other and jointly decide on the way forward for the JAL RAKSHAK FORUM.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

9.30- 10.00 a.m.	Registration
10.00 – 10.30 a.m.	Inauguration with Kalash Ceremony and Welcome of Chief Guest, Special Invitees
10.30 – 11.15 a.m.	Presentations by experts on various aspects of Rainwater Harvesting
11.15 - 11.45 a.m.	Magic Show on Water
11.45 a.m. – 12 noon	Tea
12.00 – 12.45 p.m	Training on Maintenance and precautions for RWH with Case studies
12.45 p.m. – 2 p.m.	Experience Sharing and round table discussion with community leaders
	Discussion with Community Leaders on building Sustainability into Maintenance of RWH
	Summarising of learnings and conclusions. RWH protocol
2.00 – 2.45 p.m	Lunch
2.45 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.	Introducing the concept of the JAL RAKSHAK FORUM
3.00 p.m. – 3.45 p.m.	Defining the Caring for Water – Rainwater Harvesting, Protection of Water Bodies, the 5 ‘R’s of water
3.45 – 4.00 p.m.	Tea
4.00 – 5.10 p.m.	Creation of a ‘Delhi Jal Rakshak Forum’ – Charting the Agenda, Selection of Core Co-ordination Committee and Action Plan for The Way Forward
4.00 – 5.10 p.m.	Enrolment and Presentation of JAL RAKSHAK badges
5.10 – 5.30 p.m	Summing up, valedictory and Vote of Thanks

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