We have received dozens of responses and suggestions from around the globe. We've included a selection of comments and suggestions below and will keep updating this list as your letters come in.

Thanks to all!

Dear Sucheta, This is again one of the patent absurdities of the bureaucracy. I do not know whether you know, but Rajendra Singh is one of those rare breed of people who have been jailed for planting trees! Claiming rights over the rain reminds me of king Canute asking the tide to go back!!!

Anyway, to come back to the issue. Just this Monday, the Montek Singh Ahluwalia Task Force on Employment Opportunities submitted its final report. Water management is an integral part of the strategies suggested to boost agriculture. Maybe you could write to Montek Ahluwalia about this and rope him into the campaign. He is normally rather supportive. Carries a lot of weight. You could also contact his wife, Isher Judge Ahluwalia. I am sure that NC Saxena has been contacted. Anil would have thought of it. But just ask him in case he has not. Another person who I think should be contacted is MS Swaminathan. And Deep Joshi at PRADAN.

I can write to Gehlot. But I do not know of how much use will that be. Rather, I think it will be better to write to a lot more of others, who are involved with human rights (to me water is a basic human right) issues in Rajasthan and in other parts of the country.

But standing vigil is something I would be willing. Only do let me know the schedules.

I think that a public interest petition must be filed in the high court without losing any further time.

Spread national awareness by continuosly publishing in leading dailies. I am sure that the country would contribute to a noble cause.

AS REGARDS OUR SUGGESTION ON THE ISSUE, I THINK THE MATTER MAY BE TAKEN UP WITH THE STATE / CENTRAL GOVERNMENTS, AND THEY BE REQUESTED TO PROVIDE A PERMANENT SOURCE / SOLUTION TO WATER SUPPLY IN THE AFFECTED VILLAGES, BEFORE THEY THINK OF DEMOLISHING THE EARTHEN DAM WHICH HAS BEEN ERECTED WITH SUCH HARD WORK AND INVESTMENT OF THE PEOPLE.

We are disturbed by the latest developments in Rajasthan regarding the rights regarding water storage. I personally will carry a story in this regard in the newspaper in which I have contact.

i want more info on the laws that govern rainwater harvesting structures, rain, etc. i know this is not helping the villagers. but i think we will all be better off if we know the law. dont you think?

State has no right to say every drop of water belong to them. Instead state should enable the people go for water harvesting techniques and not depending on state to do every thing. I strongly support building check dams and utilise the water by villagers. But the technical assistance can be given by the state in the matter of structures safety and logivity.

YOUR REQUEST HAS BEEN FORWARDED TO "ROZANA" TV CHANNEL FOR NEWS COVER UP. PRAY TO GOD THEY COME TO YOUR ASSISTANCE BY COVERING YOUR STORY.

Dear Ms.Sharma, I was really concerned when reading your letter. I live in Central Europe, so cannot help you in person, but can understand water problems as a human and also as a scientist, because my field is forest trees and stands water relations. If a letter from me to your Minister would help, I will write it, providing that you will give me his full (inc.e-mail) address. There is a centuries-old of small dam buiding in our country (sometimes even big, several kilometers long dams in flat parts of the country), where thousands of ponds were established this way.

Dear friends,

being involved in a research project which focuses partly on legal aspects of rainwater harvesting, I understand the perversity of your situation.

Dear Ms. Sucheta Sharma

I have just arrived after the Paani Yatra. Very much disappoited to read the contents. I shall be writing you in detail about my reactions. At first out set I can only say that in no way govt. can claim the ownership for RAINWATER. I am very much disappointed with the unlawful act of the govt. I am with CSE and TBS in their fight for water I will write you soon.

Dear Sucheta, We need to force the govts. at central and state levels to bring in the point of community rights in the National Water Policy. My view is that the community should have the right to use and manage the water resources of every minor river basin.A minor basin, as defined in Late K.L. Rao's book on India's Water Wealth, is one having an area less than 2000 sq. Km. The success of community efforts in the five adjacent stream basins of Alwar district, each having a catchment area of about of 500 Sq. Km., has clearly demonstrated the capability of the community to optimally manage the water resources of a minor basin. The suggested basin size is small and is, therefore, unlikely to get bogged down in an interstate dispute, barring a few exceptional cases. You need to have a Pani Morcha for this specific issue in Delhi and selected state capitals.

I cant belive that an example for exellent water management is threatened by the state. In my classes german and international students learn about this sign of hope. I pray that officials will refrain from working against a better future!

Wonderful, SUCHETA

Tell me more, please includimg: http://www.cseindia.org/html/extra/dam/index.htm

Suggest a press campaign through letters to the editor make out a brief draft which readers can send to the local paper

I presume you are covering the national press. i will be happy to try cover some of the more important dailies of the world do you have a ready list with em?

Much obliged and good luck.

Dear CSE unit,

Please give us the complete address of the Chief Minister of Rajasthan with a Fax and e-mail also if he has one. From Hyderabad, we will Fax a letter to him protesting their move. We will send the same copy to you by e-mai.

Please tell us what more we can from here.

Dear Sucheta, Thanks for sharing the very disturbing news about the dictatorial attitude of the Rajasthan Govt. over the harvesting of the rain water by the villagers in Rajasthan. We in Gandhi-in-Action fully support the cause of the villagers and outrightly reject the illogical and unconstitutional order of the Govt. claiming its right over the rain water.I think it a very good case to be taken to the Supreme Court for restraining the Government and asking it not to dimolishing or disturb the Johads as the Govt. has not done any thing to help the villagers in resolving their water crises.

Dear Ms Sharma I feel as indignant as all in CSE must about the inhumanity of a government which can be as callous and brutal as the Rajasthan state government to the people they are supposed to protect. The British Raj was much kinder. I could write to the Chief Minister of Rajasthan but I feel it would be useless. I refer to Jayaprakash Narayan's article in the `Economic Times' of 14 July `01, "Plundering the poor and protecting the rich". This is what all governments since Independence have practised. I suggest you send an appeal to the Prime Minister and all the Opposition Party leaders and also to international organisations to note the brutality which continues to exist in a country which trumpets it is the largest democracy - but functions like a police state even when the people are only trying to help themselves.

It is disgusting to read about the attitude of the Rajasthan State Govt Officials attitude in respect of the Johads. The cobwebs in their minds regarding the fundamentall right to water and air of every citizen have to be cleared.

Even if Mr. Ghelot, projected as a forward looking person helps in this case where is the guarantee that the "learned" minister and her Govt. officials do not create similar troubles to other Johads?.

Perhaps it is time to permanantly stop such interventions by Govt. agencies through legal channels. An appropriate PIL may be submitted in the supreme court seeking right to waater may be implemented and directions to Govt. agencies to help the villagers and not obstruct their efforts.

You pleasae consider the possibility of such ana approach.

21a) July 13, 2001 Dear Anil Agarwal,

I have today received an email from your colleague, Sucheta Sharma of your website unit on a brief story entitled, " The ultimate tyranny : The government claims it owns the rain". It is very interesting story and my immediate comments are as follows ;

1. It is ridiculous on the part of Irrigation Minister, Kamla Beniwal if she has declared that every drop of rain belongs to the Government.

2. I fully agree that the government cannot and should not stop minor works and it cannot own the rains everywhere in any drainage system.

3. I also do not understand the Government referring the water sharing agreement between the erstwhile princely states of Alwar and Bharatpur executed as early as in 1910. When the princely states do not exist for nearly 55 years, how can their agreement on any subject be valid ?

4. However, I have my own doubt on the height of Johad / check dam, which your paper has described as of 12 meters height. In our experience and knowledge, this is abnormal height for check dam and if any check dam of 12 meters height is to be constructed, the safety factors have to be considered. I do not know the technical competency of Gopal Singh of TBS, but, I am more than sure that the check dam of such height requires technical expertise.

These are my initial comments. If we know more about the technical designs and other information on the above check dam, we can study the same and offer our technical help, if required.

21b)

To July 14, 2001 Dear Anil Agarwal,

RE : Johad / check dam at village Lava Ka Baas, Rajasthan REF : Your email dated 12th July 2001 and my comments dated 13th July 2001

You might have received my email of 13th July 2001, which contained my comments on one Johad / check dam in Lava Ka Baas village in Rajasthan. In para 4 of my comments I raised the technical issue of the height. On re-reading your note, I realise that it was an earthen Johad / check dam. There is no problem of having 12 meters height of such earthen check dam or Johad. However, with such height it is necessary to take into account various safety factors even in case of earthen Johad / check dam. Please correct my earlier comments.

It will be nice of you to tell me whether you made a pond or desilted it as according to my belief ponds are desilted not artificially made

Dear Shri Anil Agarwalji,

It is a hocking news that govt is claiming that every boond is Govt property.

It is a national property and we have all the rights by virtue of being a citizen of India to harvest and let the water get percolated in the soil and all the area will be atleast getting drinking water.

Our politicians are proving it true that in near future there will be war for waters. It was expected that it will be war with the neighbours and not own countrymen.

Can we not fight in the court against this.

The said minister should be sued for destroying the public property.

Please let us know what else help we can provide.

I will translate the article in Marathi and publish it in dailies and weeklies.

I wish CSE and Tarun Bharat Sangh for this water crusader.

THIS IS THE VERY SAME BATTLE WE HAVE IN STRI LANKA. WE BETTER SHOULD JPOIN AND DO SOMTHING.

Dear Folks, We have been following the rainwater harvesting movement and the CSE's heroic efforts with great interest. Given the kind of local politics experienced here in the South it is of no surprise that vested interests are getting panicky! You do not give the Chief Minister's full address. Email address??? We will certainly give our voice and support for your cause. Awaiting more info and indications,

Dear Sucheta,

I have met Usha, but have not had the pleasure of meeting you.

I was shocked at the news about TBS. Could you please provide the e-mail address of the chief secretary of rajastan (and of the cheif minister if he has one) and the fax numbers, either thru a mail, or at your website.

Some suggestions for action:

Initiate a chainletter suggesting that the people wh receiive it sign on and forward it to others, and that at every point (say after every 500 signatures) it should come back to CSE. You can then submit it to the govt.

Initiate an action alert at your site.

Has rajender singh/or his friends in jaipur/ ajmer got an e-mail? could you send it to me, as i would like to write to him as well?

Incidentally if you would like to reach a large audience outside india as well, please send me the message (asking for action from out side as well), which i can post it to a list serve i run on right-to-water.

Incidentally our website on water is at www.waterobservatory.org

Last time i was at CSE (jan, 20**, we had talked about putting a reciprocal link. We have provided a link to cse. (both in related site and at the home site..)

It will be good if you can provide a link to it from your site.

Sir/Madam,

My complete support is with you(CSE). But I stay in Bangalore & am a common man, so, i can only contribute some money for the project. And i can suggest that there must be a possible way by which the central government can advise the Rajasthan government to act wisely. I think that this possibility must be explored. I hope that the state government comes of age. Some people dont know the importance of Envirnmental Protection at all. We must strive for this, in India. I hope the crisis these brave villagers face will end soon.

Dear Colleagues,

Thanks for your mail. We are with you on the issue.

We are embarking upon a serious dialogue with stake holders on Rain Water Harvesting at Mysore, India. We are in need of few insights to Buiding bye-laws revisions with regard to Rain water Harvesting at Chennai, Hyderabad and New Delhi.

Please get us some contacts/literature sources.

I had seen the press report and the tv coverage. i would certainly have written to the cm on e-mail but the e-mail address is not known to me. on my e-mail send me the address or send an e-mail proforma to all and ask them to send the filled one back so that you may send it on our behalf. i assure you that i will try and help in any manner i can. jaweed ashraf

Shocking - I am so angry with Politicians and Bureaucrats - stupid, dumb fools...

makes us feel like small fry, who can be brushed off at anybody's whim! there has to be a way out - there must be someone sensible - wont the President of India DO SOMETHING!

I cannot help you from the USA where I live--but I write to ask, why don't people dig ponds (pukur) as they do in Bengal, to catch rain? If the pond is in the village the officials could not touch it!

(requiredComments) I edit an environmental ezine and website (http://www.makingindiagreen.org) and would like to put up a cyber petition addressed to the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, that my mailing list subscribers and visitors to my website can sign. Please let me know if this is acceptable to you. If you wish, I can send you the URL of the petition.

** I can write to the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Another point as far as my knowledge goes ther s no such legistlation that says govt has control of rain water. The legal angle can also be explored and if necessary a stay order can be obtained to prevent the authorities from destroying the johad.

Dear Dr.Sucheta Sharma, Thanks for your e-mail regarding Rain water harvesting. I fully support the stand taken by you and the chairperson of C.S.E, Dr. Anil Agarwal in this regard.I would be willing to do whatsoever is possible at my end. Meanwhile my name could be mentioned as a support to the cause taken up by the C.S.E. With kind regards Sincerely yours Professor L.M.Srivastava Head and Senior Consultant, Department of Biochemistry, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi-110060

I am from Madras, a drought prone area. If my govt had any inspirations of this kind, I may oppose them vehemently. If the Rajasthan govt wants to have a claim for natural resources, like even the rain water, there can be only one thought, ie. absolutely thoughtless and higly imprudent. If Rajasthan govt feels it has a monopoly over the rain water, let them dare to bring down the drought by much effective ways, if they have brains. Then let them think of the monopoly. Infact the Rajasthani workers have to be commended for realizing the need to save water. If to save water is a crime, then it is as good as carping, working for the basics of one's life and family. That is a highly atrocious thought of hampering the basic philosophy of existence.

My warm personnel support for your bottom up, hands on, approach.

Could you help the local people to make a security check for extreme events, here rain or drought which can cause in both cases trouble with the dam structure, and a check for earthquake probability? then to look at downstream risk?

Dear Sucheta Sharma, This is a message I sent to our list-serve for the Middle Rio Grande Water Assembly, a grassroots group struggling to draft a regional water plan. We are connected to local government and funded by the State of New Mexico, USA. I believe that water is going to be, if it isn't already, the issue that makes us turn on governments that insist on "growing" their economies at all costs, and also the issue that brings the World's Peoples together to make peace. No issue turns people to violence so quickly, or forces people to get along and solve their problems, more. I appreciate the struggles the Indian people have over the water and the lessons derived to be put to use here. Regards, Lynn Montgomery, Placitas, NM, USA

Dear Water Planners, Although the below comes from the other side of the Earth, we have the same problem. Water harvesting is a time honored tradition in NM. When I first came out here 30 years ago, I live on the Rio Puerco in the Cabezon area. The groundwater there has been destroyed by human activity and is more salty than the sea. Our rancher and landlord had built a nice concrete cistern that collected water from the tin roof of the little house by way of simple gutters. We were able to wash, cook our food, and drink the pure water produced, and it was usually enough to get us by. Some of my neighbors here in Placitas have installed similar systems and limit their gardening and landscaping to what they get from the sky. We have the same problem in NM as those in India because such water harvesting is considered an illegal diversion. What if every roof in Albuquerque drained into a cistern? How much water would that be, how much would it cost, and would it help with our water budget? Regards, Lynn

Governments are now trying to deny people the right to look for their own solutions for sustainable development, even when the government is unable to provide solutions itself. Whose rights does a government represent anyway?

Padma, > > thank you for forwading this message - the information will fit > beautifully into my keynote talk at the conference of the National > Organization for Men Against Sexism. The theme of the conference (July > 20-22, Denver, Colorado, USA) is "Manifesting Global Justice: Creating > Inclusive Communities". > > Brian Klocke

A suggestion from my side would be to ask the Govt. authorities to pay back the amount spent on construc- tion ie Rs.8/- lacs and also assure regular water supply to the villagers, arguing that it is the right of villagers to get water from State, which in fact, is State's responpon- sibility, not doing that will call for Morchas sort of things.

I think before planning works of substantial investment, comprehensive prospecting should be done for likely legal hurdles. Since there is no sunset provision in an of Indian law, one can easily evoke a law passed by Emperor Akbar if it suits government officers (or plice officers). In the present case it seems to be a similar case. Most of JFM movement is rooted not in law but in showoff. That is why well-entrenched forest bureaucracy is not MUCH worried about it. If all legislative hurdles are cleared for people's rights to manage their resources (even if with the help of govt), things would change much faster. Private initiatives and NGO initiative would also make a sense only when one is guaranteed protection of one's efforts.

P R Siyag Director Forestry Training Institute Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg

As a starting point can a letter be sent out by CESE to the Chief Minister of Rajasthan signed by all its readers? Maybe you could send a letter out and we could all add our name to the list. Each of us could forward it to others who are not subscribers of DTE but feel strongly about such issues.

It is a shame really that instead of congratulating and supporting community based efforts at managing natural resources State Governments and politicians hinder it for their political gains. I fail to understand what the motive could be.

My thoughts and support are with the people of Lava ka Bas.

Extraordinary how India's officials are willing to destroy even the most humble local initiative. Extraordinary too the effort that it takes - as CSE did - to thwart these people. Must this be done at each and every stage of people's development? Apparently yes, because the states and centre have long since ceased to represent the interests and welfare of the people. It is only the complete divorce of the administrators from the poeple that can lead to a government making the outrageous claim that rainwater is state property. They may as well claim that the few grammes of minerals in the bodies of the villagers of Lava ka Baas are also state property and haul them off to jail or unlawful possession. Yes this certainly has an implication for community water harvesting in India, but looking at it from the outside, there is an Alice-in-Wonderland quality about the affair that makes one shake one's head and say: this is an Indian government after all, and therefore any reality can be distorted.

Dear Sir,

Even the animals have a right to live and grow under the laws of God. The government is meant to govern, and not to control or dictate over the people. The rain is provided by God, or at least by nature(for the atheists). SO WHO IS THE GOVERNMENT TO TAKE AWAY WHAT IT HAS NOT GIVEN.

After failing on so many fronts, the government now finds that it has sucked everything that the people had. Now in desperation, and unable to exploit anything more, it is trying to extract even rain, air, etc - even the very lives of the people.

With hopes for a righteous conduct on the part of the so called rulers,

Rain water is the property of all living organism, not only of the human being. It should not be a property of any state power. All living organisms (including plants, bacteria,anomals etc. ) have the role to maintain the water cycle, carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle etc., so they have the right to use water rationally for their daily needs and also for maintaining the water cycle as well as ecosystem as a whole. Before intervening in rain harvesting by the people Govt. should remember their constitutional responsibilities to meet the peoples' right to access for the safe drinking water, sanitation and water for irrigation and other purposes. I am with you to raise my voice and campaign against propritory right of state power for rain water.

Dear Anil , In response to your call for support , My suggestion is that the those who have built the johad must unite on a single point programme : The right to recall their elected representative .This right has been granted by the Govt. Of Madhya Pradesh .

option1: let's start a non co-operation movement against the government of rajashan. option2: we can go for a hunger strike till the government make all necessary amendments to safe gaurd the johad. i can participate in this.

I am very proud of CSE and the work it does to safeguard our environment. I think the stand taken by the government agencies are riduculous to say the least. They will meet the same fate as the other stands did. That is one of defeat and humiliation. It is always important to lend a ear and more than that, to establish a forum for these poor villagers. I am sure the spirit of the people will once again triumph.

Dr. Saumitra Bharadwaj

Dear Cucheta Sharma,

Rain water harvesting is one of the good method of storing water. Government has no right in stating that only they have a right over rain water. But if the villagers stop the flow of a river under the guise of storing water restaining others to make use of it , then it is a different matter. People of a particular area have no right to restrain its flow of rain water. Such usage of water will infringe the right of others.

We were having a similar problem in Kerala, where the river sand is mined by the local authorities. Mining gives them income. This indirectly destroyed the river ecology. Now the Government has taken the control of the rivers and the sand mining. This is correct. If every local authority starts claiming that what is beneath them belongs to them, the others will have to suffer. No State can make any law preventing the flow of river or goods, etc from one State to another.

Recently the Kerala High Court has rendered a judgment preventing the Tata from making use of the river bed for building purposes. For your reference a copy is attached.

visit. http://geocities.com/sahasram_2000/ for searching judgments of Kerala High Court

Dear Editor,

It surprises and pains me to read about such stupidity in these days. Apparently the Rajasthan government thinks they are living in the 15th century.

I would advise you'll to create email links in your letter. These links could be to the Rajasthan CM, the World Bank, the Indian President. Readers can then write in directly to all these people. Also we will send it out to other readers whom we know. A chain will be generated and under public pressure a difference can be made.

Wish you'll the best in the fight against stupidity.

Thanks N Regards

Sim Khirid

Please start a chain email for spreading the awareness of the issue. Also make a link so that the World Bank, IMF and other organisations dealing with the Rajasthan government are aware of the public disgust. Public pressure usually works in such scenarios. The Shell incident in Nigeria is a good example.

Suggest: 1 Sunita Narain to meet Sonia Gandhi- lady to lady may click better 2 send details thru your man in mp to digvijay singh- congress to congress frequency may click and gehlot may wake up 3 local people already have risen- satyagrah at johad site- truth always wins- in valmiki ramayan, in ayodhya kand, ram tells "satyamevesharey lokey, satyey dharmah sadashritaha satya mulani sarvani, satyanasti parmama padam" meaning that satya(truth) is god, only satya is god, dharma(righteousness) is dependent (ashrit) on satya only- i.e., dharma will remain only if there is satya at the root of everything is satya- if the building is founded on trouth it will survive (otherwise like the buildings in gujereat they will collapse- or like the indian society will survive only if it is founded on satya- like delhi is founded today on asatya and so is destroying itself!!) etc etc Best of luck cse is founded on satya satya will win

Dear Sir/Madam,

It is really disgusting and astonishing to know that the Protector has turned to be a Predator. What else could we expect from a Government with such attitutde.

As a very small Rainwater Harvesting Supporter and a person who acts according to the pulse of the environment, I am always ready to support the enviroment friendly activities. As you have suggested rightly, a community movement has to be initiated to make the Governments aware of this type of issues. In my opinion, we should be able to show the advantages of these type of small check dams to the Governments and at the same time let those Governments be ready with their line of arguments (if they really have any as disadvantages). Finally, I should appreciate the efforts of CSE in tackling these type of issues and I support fully to our CSE's effort. I feel that motivating the community to stand by their Check dam would be a very good move and at the same time letters should reach the chief minister supporting the people's movement on the issue by people like us. I promise you that I will write a letter to the chief minister of Rajasthan. I thank CSE for educating the people on the environmental issues.

Dear sir,

The content of your mail makes a sad reading. However justified the bureaucracy may be water is very essential particularly in the state of Rajasthan. Organisation like CSE should fight it out and make the govt. see reason in the public interest.

The CSE will have our full support in all its endeavour.

Let them destroy it! Don't be surprised because we need at least one example to say that at least government not only builds dams but destroys them too. Then it will be easy to ask them to extend it to large dams!

What do you think?

Dear Sucheta Sharma,

It is some has to raise voices against such a deed which will lead to drought and famine.

During drought or famine, only the poorest of poor gets affected, the rich may able to live on mineral water for drinking and even for bathing.

But the poors especially famers who provide the nation with food and milk and even meat and eggs depend on water largely rather than the government.

Many of those who frame laws and rules may not have experienced what is real thirst for himself, then how they will feel about thirst of a cattle or of a vegetation.

As India is highly populated and depending largely on agriculture has to give 75% percent to water problems.

I have seen the cruel incidents which occured some years back, from the news papers and from TV. I felt it, I understood it vicariously.

As i am from a poor farmer family, i had some view points to tell to you. Nowadays people find that the very worst profession is Agriculture. Many people are moving to other Jobs. If you invest a certain amount in any like shop or anything the profit is many fold higher than from agriculture.

But we may tell we have conquered the food crisis. It is bad of talking about what we have achieved. Its all due to new technology. Really we are in a era or compettive globalisation. As India is a big nation with vast area and year round sunlight for agriculture we should be in the first of producing foods to the world not of only our own.

My idea of solving the drought is

1. make as many as pond as you can all the places which will provide a diversity of plants birs entertainment site, provide water for agiculture and drinking etc.

When I study history books i read that this king and that king dig ponds and planted trees along the roads etc. But now i dont find any government is digging pond or etc.

it is digging a as many pond as possible in many places will be more useful than building a very big dame at one place.

2. Some plants are there called summer plants which will able to grow on drought condition are there that has to be planted all the baren places by the gov which will cool of and will lead to raining and prevent erosion and gives fruits and foods for the pooret of the poor, eg a tree similar in shape and hight called------- in tamil it is called panai maram and many other like it.

3. Gov should provide the people especially to poor plantlets of trees freely.

4. Rivers all has to be united aleviate the crisis.

5. As gov people and gov it find difficult to extract work from people, it is better allow private to do things to alleviate the water crisis.

I have expressed my ideas, you see and deside whichever is better. And always the gov should get or have to explain the people before doing any demolishing of dams or any precious things.

I hope your efforts will succeed in fighting against the drought. my support is always there for thirsty people.

We would greately appreciate to have some suggestions from your organisations regarding how to go about this plea of our people? On behalf of the people.

This is in reply to your bulletin on the situation in Rajasthan regarding the government wanting to destroy the johad. I would be very happy to help; I would like to write a letter to the chief minister.

I am a student studying environment as one of my subjects. I volunteered with CSE (natural resource management) for 2 months last year, during the time the book on water harvesting case studies from all over the country was being put together. Please tell me how I can help!

I volunteer with an organisation called Association for India's Development here in the US and I can get a few people to sign a petition/email the CM. Please let me know what we can do that'll be most useful..

To, Chairperson/ Director , CSE

I have gone through the news about the attitude of State Govt. towards a Water-Harvesting Dam in Rajasthan. I had also seen news in TV channel about it earlier where TBS's Rajender singh gave a very good statement. I felt very sad about the whole affair. I heard that even the collector of the area is for demolition of the structure. It is due to the attitude of Various Govt. Depts , that they are the Mai-Baaps of public and have god-given powers to decide on whatever happens in their domain. Further , since the bureacracy would device ingenous ways to get things their way ( a la- "Ji Mantriji" way ) it is difficult to predict to what extent it ( Bureacracy) will go. The politician is, many times hand in glove or just fooled to toe their line by a jargon of words and laws. This is the main reason we have so many discontent areas/people in our country , it is also the main cause of people of backward regions taking to or supporting Militancy . The disturbance and mental agony poor villagers have to face due to file moving, free lunching and roaming Babus of Govt is the sad legacy of an oppressive british Raj which refuses to go from the minds of Public Servants. The only thing they fear is a mafia type organisation or a massive public outcry -- well covered by the media. The latter is the only legitimate way people have. Rajasthan has been first in many public movements --Right of knowledge of public spending, Water harvesting etc. and they need support from all in their present struggle. I have following humble suggestions in this matter :

* Talk to the concerned MLA, MP and Minister ( in that order) and convey public resentment it will have its own effect. * study the technical objections of bureaucracy , so that they can be replied in same language .ie. Keep a small spillover and make it inoperative if required. * Keep vigil so that the structure is not forcefully destroyed. * Give as much publicity in various Public awareness programmes of different channels. * Arrange a self financed trip of some people/ waterharvesters /environmentalist from outside to the site ( I would definately join it) let the message be conveyed across the country through human lips.

It is sad that in the name of democracy we are perpetuating oppressive laws and Police Raaj in this Country. As I had written some time back, I am convinced that some innovative ways only can be saviours of the oppressed of the country, and what an irony the people who oppress and those oppresed are Indians, Children of the same soil !! Any other help if needed from my side may pl be conveyed -- Jai hind.

To: Mr.Anil Agarwal and Sunita Narain

I have just read your very powerful piece on what is happening in Rajasthan regarding rain-water harvesting. How ridiculous can our Ministers and bureaucracy be? And I am sorry to know that the Irrigation Minister there is a woman with these views.

I would like to suggest that you send your note to Sonia Gandhi and also organise something in Jaipur outside the Irrigation Minister's office to indicate the people's displeasure of the Minister whose understanding is so limited.

Hope to see you both soon - Kamla