Mulky : The training on Rainwater Harvesting and Percolation Pit Demonstration was jointly organized by Catholic Sabha Mulky Unit, Samanvaya Mangalore, Rotary Club and Karnad Youngsters Association, Mulky on September 04, 2005 at Mulky Church Hall. Rev. Dr Victor Pinto, the parish priest of Mulky church inaugurated the programme and Mr. N.P.Shetty Rotary president presided over the programme. Both of them supported the cause of conserving rainwater in their address. The resource person, Rev. Dr Ronald Cutinha of Samanvaya, Mangalore, Mrs. Celine Monthiero, and Mulky Nagara Panchayath President were present on the occasion. Dr. Neil Aranha the Catholic Sabha president of Mulky unit took the lead in organizing the seminar.
“There are institutions to train people in various fields and people have all the amenities except for water which has become scarce. This God-given gift is wasted, eroding fertile soil as it flows towards the sea. It is depressing to note that there are no institutions to educate people to harvest rainwater, to collect and conserve water, the elixir of life. Therefore, it is imperative that education on conservation must be included in the curriculum, to conserve water and make the country prosperous.” Rev. Dr Ronald Cutinha, the Director of Samanvaya said this during the training session. ‘Every village must have a proper pool or small lake. If all the accumulated silt is removed by the people themselves annually, there will not be any drought. In the olden days the kings gifted water pools to the villages and today the people themselves must be ready to make such pools and lakes,’ he added. He also mentioned how the villagers themselves built the river johads and reactivated the dead rivers like Arawari, Rooparel and Bhagini in Rajasthan.
Slides showing the preparation of soak pits, collection of roof water, construction of bunds and vented dams and of different models of rainwater harvesting helped the participants understand water conservation methods fully. 150 local enthusiasts and rotary members took part in this training programme.
