Replenishing Rajasthan

During my first visit to a rural village in Rajasthan, I met a young, 8-year-old girl, Sunita. The innocence of her childhood had been sapped by the heat of the desert. My interaction with that girl has left an imprint on my memory. Her sore legs were forced to walk 8 km just to get water for domestic use every day. Her father was a farmer who worked tirelessly under the merciless sun. He was unable to provide his family with dinner on the table at night because his crops had failed. My family is originally from Rajasthan and so it is heart-breaking that there are people living in such regions without access to the basic human necessity- water.         Water sources in such regions are varied and often seasonal, ranging from ponds, lakes, and streams to open wells, bore wells, and irrigation canals. Majority of the year, the citizens of Rajasthan experience a severe shortage of water for agricultural and domestic use. Due to erratic water availability crops often fai...