Water Resources Committee Visits Nagpur

On September 18th and 19, four Rotarians – Ravi Fotedar, PP Sandip Agarwalla, Mahesh Khubchandani and Rohan Dalal – of our Club’s Water Resources Committee accompanied by Dr. Ajit Gokhale (an expert in agriculture, water management and environment), toured villages in the Yavatmal and Chandrapur districts to survey projects undertaken by the Rotary Club of Nagpur.

Rotary Club of Bombay has partnered with RC of Nagpur for two of their global grant projects on Watershed Management in Ralegaon and providing clean drinking water to a cluster of eight villages situated in the buffer zone of the Tadoba Tiger Reserve.

Our visit, facilitated by Rtn. Alok Goenka, President, Rotary Club of Nagpur and his able, dedicated team, was very informative and provided a first-hand perspective of the challenges faced by villagers and farmers in these drought-affected areas. Some of these areas also hold the dubious distinction of having recorded the highest incidence of farmer suicides in India.

Upon surveying these projects, the Committee proposes to undertake two projects:
1. Expansion of Watershed Management in Yavatmal district
2. Creating a model village in the Tadoba region of Chandrapur district.

Discussions have been initiated with Rotary Club of Nagpur, their network of NGOs on the ground, corporate partnerships and experts like Dr. Gokhale, to determine the feasibility and scope of these projects. By leveraging these local partners and the Rotary International infrastructure through The Rotary Foundation, Rotary Club of Bombay hopes to make a sustainable difference to the rural communities that are deprived of basic necessities and need our service the most.