Water is Life

India’s river Ganga is the lifeline for millions of people. Flowing through 26 percent of the country’s landmass, more than 400 million people are dependent on the river for life and livelihood.

It’s a dependency that is increasingly under threat. Today, the Ganga is highly polluted, and rejuvenating the river represents one of India’s biggest environmental challenges.

Cleaning the Ganga is a national priority for India’s government which set up the National Mission for Clean Ganga to address a range of challenges including waster water and solid waste management, industrial pollution and river front development. The government has committed significant resources to clean up the river.

The east Indian state of Jharkhand is one of 11 states through which the Ganga flows. The 83 km stretch of river touches virtually every person in Sahibganj district. It’s also the main source of livelihood - providing water for irrigation and industry.

In an area where more than 90 percent of the population defecates in the open, for many people its also where they defecate. Its particularly hard for women like Malati Devi from Samda Nala, a village on the banks of the river. More than 700 people share 10 usable toilets. For many women this means waking up as early as 4 am in search of privacy and not being able to use the toilet again until night fall. “What other choice do we have?” she asks.

Twenty-five year old Kamuna Bhavali echoes the worries of women. Over 1000 households share 200 toilets in Srighar village. Every day Karuna takes her three children to bathe in the river. “Our skin is often itchy after we bathe. The river is very dirty and sometimes we see corposes floating in the water. It scares the children”, she says.

Ten years ago says Uttam Gaur Dash, a priest at a local temple, you could simply drink straight from the river. “You can’t do that anymore,” he says wistfully. The river gets smaller every year and its harder to see the beauty.

Women like Seetha Saha who serve as jal sahiyas or water friends are the state’s champions. Appointed by village councils, they look after the water and sanitation needs of their villages. Under the government’s Clean Ganga Mission, Seetha has overseen the construction of hundreds of toilets. The next step she says, is to ensure toilets have water supply and that clean drinking water is easily available to all. “Without water there is no life”, she says and that’s what we have to hope for.

In May 2016, the National Mission for Clean Ganga, India’s Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, and the Jharkhand state government announced a partnership to rejuvenate the Ganga in Sahibganj district, focused on improving sanitation and generating sustainable livelihoods. The partnership is supported by the United Nations Development Programme.

Speaking at the launch of the partnership, Uma Bharti, Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, said, “People who live near the Ganga understand its importance. We don’t need to spend money on raising people’s awareness, but instead focus on ensuring our programmes and industry don’t destroy the river.” According to Raghubar Das, Chief Minister of Jharkhand, “By integrating sanitation and solid and liquid waste management with livelihoods, Jharkhand can emerge as a model for cleaning the Ganga and improving people’s lives.”

Implemented in 78 villages on the banks of the river, the partnership will focus on improving sanitation practices and promoting cost-effective solid and liquid waste management strategies that can improve livelihoods, and ensure sustained use of sanitation infrastructure. Its expected that in two-and-a-half years, more than 45,000 households will benefit from improved health and quality of life.

It aims to address the concerns of people like 32 year-old Amit Kumar Mandal a resident of Yogichukh village. As the river weighed down by the impact of human inaction and climate change, continues to sink further and further away, its made routine activities like bathing difficult. Proposed initiatives like the construction of bathing ghats that have toilets and bathing areas in a single place, can make things easier. “Every time I bathe, it’s a battle against sharp rocks,” he says.

A key purpose of the partnership is to empower local governance institutions to effectively drive community-based sanitation initiatives. Early efforts are already visible. In Kanhaiyasthan village, people gathered to draw a detailed and colourful village map outside the community centre. These vibrant maps detail all assets, including water and sanitation, highlighting areas for improvement. In Kanhaiyasthan it pointed to the absence of a solid waste management system. Garbage piles up behind homes where it rots and flows into the river as the monsoon sets in.

Relying on cost effective technologies using local materials as much as possible, the partnership aims to champion community-led sustainable sanitation management in the Ganga basin, linked to livelihood opportunities for local communities.