The initial journey of Megh Pyne Abhiyan and the process of exploring, identifying, establishing and sustaining decentralised access to safe drinking water during floods in four districts of north Bihar

1. MEGH PYNE ABHIYAN
Reviving self-belief
2006

2. Objectives…
Short term
• Introducing the concept and technique of rooftop rainwater
harvesting
• Popularizing rainwater harvesting as a supplementary water
source and inculcating the habit of adopting rainwater
harvesting as a low cost technology with high cost returns
• Strengthening the capacities of the local masses to carry out
the proposed interventions independently at the community
level

3. And…
Long term
• Popularizing the concept of rainwater harvesting and
transferring the learning of the Maegh Pyne Abhiyan to other
flood affected villages in north Bihar
• Propagating rainwater harvesting system for assured drinking
water in areas with high concentration of iron and arsenic in
groundwater
• Developing other community-based water management
strategies (such as drainage systems) in partnership with the
local communities for transforming water-logged agricultural
fields into productive resource base

4. Campaign strategy…
• Campaign launched in May 2006, after 1 ½ years
of required groundwork and exhaustive need
assessment
• Executed in one panchayat each of the four flood
prone districts of north Bihar – Khagaria, Saharsa,
Supaul and Madhubani – addressing an
approximate population of 46,000 people

5. Process…
• Sample survey
• Internal capacity building exercise
• Social mobilization process
– Introducing the concept and importance of rainwater
and its conservation for drinking purposes
– Formation of village level institution
– Orientation of the opinion leaders, panchayat
functionaries, members of village level institutions…
– Continuous interaction with the village communities

6. And…
• Demonstrations
– Setting up demonstrations in all the four panchayats
– Constant follow-up
– Encouraging people to adopt rainwater harvesting at an
individual level
– Ground and rain water testing
• Mass awareness
– Jal Samvad Yatra
– Participating in the Gaushala Mela at Khagaria
– Publishing campaign related documents

7. And…
• Advocacy
– Interaction with the local administration, media and
eminent people at the district and national level (new
component)
– Distributing MPA publications
– Presentations
• Constant monitoring and skill development of the
front line workers

8. What made it possible!

9. Building trust…
• Revisited history and explored traditional wisdom
to identify the importance attached to rainwater…
• Located local people with the experience of
drinking rainwater
• Included elderly people and women in the
campaign during the initial stages
• Continuous interaction with the villagers
• Tested the ground and rain water

10. Social mobilization …

11. And …

12. Demonstrations…

13. District specific
installations…
• Khagaria – 20
• Saharsa – 18
• Supaul – 21
• Madhubani – 19

14. They helped…

15. Unfortunately…
• Monsoon failed this year
• Skepticism crept in…
• People held MPA responsible for the
catastrophe
• Field workers were targeted…
• MPA had a rough beginning…
• BUT the work went on…

16. Innovations at individual
levels…

17. And…

18. People said…
• “Pyne bhaut neek che” - Water tastes good
• Its light
• Initially tastes a little weird but once the
taste develops then one enjoys drinking it
• Stomach related problems were solved
• Food cooked in rainwater tastes much better

19. People said…
• Water does not go bad…
• This alternative was never explored by the locals nor
was it told by outsiders
• Never thought that we will be able to access safe
drinking water at such cheap cost
• What will happen if the monsoon fails again?
• How can we store more water to ensure that there is
sufficient during dry period during monsoon and
otherwise?
• Can something similar be done with the groundwater?
• Do you think we can survive by just drinking rainwater?

20. Response…

21. Water testing...
• pH and E coli tests gave
instant result in the
field, and was an
effective confidence
building measure BUT
a lot more needs to be
done…

22. Jal Samvad Yatra

23. Saharsa…

24. Supaul…

25. Khagaria

26. Madhubani…

27. The yatra went to…
• Khagaria – Dhamma Khairi Khutaha panchayat
and Chatar (Chatar panchayat), Madhura Musahari
and Badi Madhura (Uttar Marar)
• Saharsa - Mahishi (north), Mahishi (east)
• Supaul – Bayriya panchayat
• Madhubani – West Lucknaur and Daiya Kharbar
(Gangapur), Khairi (Khairi), Gunakarpur (Behat
south), Balbhadrapur (Balbhadrapur)

28. Outcome…
•Khagaria – 4,500 people have drank rainwater
•Saharsa – 3,000
•Supaul – 2,500
•Madhubani – 3,500
•Out of 46,000 people approximately 13,000 have
been made aware and have consumed rainwater
And awareness has been further generated in
adjoining panchayats as well…

29. Additional interventions…
• Participating in the
Gaushala mela
• Interaction with the
district authorities and
media…
• Exploring possibilities
of local water storage
options

30. Water storage…

31. What next?

32. Proposed plan of action
(December 2006 – March 2008)
• Area of work
– Increase the area of work in additional panchayats and to continue
working in the earlier panchayat to attain full coverage
• Issues to be addressed
– Rainwater harvesting for drinking and other household purposes
– Supplementary source of drinking water in areas with high levels
of arsenic and iron in groundwater
– General awareness regarding traditional farming practices to
reduce contamination of ground and surface water
– Public and policy advocacy to institutionalize rainwater harvesting

33. And…
• Organizational development activities
– Organizational’s core staff and field worker
(old and new) orientation on
• Strengthening and mobilizing communities
• Technical aspects of water management
• Advocacy tools and techniques to constitute
pressure groups at the village level
• Moderating, reporting and documentation of village
level initiatives
• Personality development of workers to become an
effective community worker

34. And…
Social Mobilization and capacity building of village level
institutions
• Old group
– Group based assessment of the campaign and future planning –
SWOT analysis
– Issue based mass awareness
– Strategic planning of how to concentrate on individual
adoption of the rain water harvesting technique
– Interface between the old people and present generation to
identify the traditional practices of water management in the
region and develop them as a point of reference for others
– Develop a cadre of ‘Jal doot’ to propagate the concept of
rainwater harvesting within the village and in the adjoining
areas
– Relocation of the old instalments

35. And
• New group
– Contacting eminent person
– Village level meetings
– Water- issue based meetings
– Committee formation
– Orientation about the Megh Pyne Abhiyan
– Identify and develop ‘Jal doot’ in the new areas
– Stakeholders meeting at the village level
– Developing a pamphlet based on local issues
• Develop a team of local artists/ traditional group
to propagate rainwater harvesting

36. And…
Field level advocacy
• Dissemination of the outcomes of Megh Pyne
Abhiyan
• District level awareness and motivational
programme for the panchayat functionaries to
help in impacting the rainwater harvesting policy
at the district and state level

37. An idea of the
problem…

38. And…