Vol. II: Shaping Information and Communication ... - IMA,ZLW & IfU

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2.13 CASE STUDY # 13: ICT for Water Management in the Arid Zone: Jal-Chitra
Background and Context
A considerable portion of Western India lies in the arid zone, comprising the Great Indian
Thar desert, and the regions surrounding it, which lie in the semi arid zone. This belt, which is
home to a large percentage of one billion population, is perennially drought prone, and water
here is more precious than gold. People of the region have over time perfected many
ingenious ways of conserving water, and devised several mechanisms of ensuring supply of
life giving water for their needs.
But given the trajectory of growth, much of the traditional lore, acumen and knowledge about
the environment one lives in it are fading out, and much of this knowledge will be lost to
posterity. Given this scenario, especially in Rajasthan, India’s largest state today, where there
has been an alarming fall in the water table across the board in almost all the districts of the
state, a small but sure step has been taken, which addresses this problem using IT.
Project Description
The main objective is to provide an integrated view of all the water sources available to the
rural community and allow the community to prepare for future eventualities based on the
past records.
The project is all of one component, a cute piece of software called “Jal-Chitra”(Water-
Map/Picture). Jal-Chitra allows a user with a PC to create an interactive water-map of the
village. The Ajit Foundation, Jaipur, has developed the software in close collaboration with
the Barefoot College of Tilonia in Rajasthan.
It is the outcome of the group’s intuitive understanding of the region, its people and their
needs developed through years of working with the villagers in the region. This potent
combination provided the developer with a unique opportunity to bring together the tools of
scientific modelling and computation to aid rural development.
Jal-Chitra is currently being tested in two villages of Rajasthan. One village falls near Tilonia
and the testing here is being done by the Social Work and Research Center [SWRC]. The
other village is in Toddgarh and the testing here is being done in collaboration with a group of
labour workers and farmers, the Mazdoor Kissan Shakti Sangathan [MKSS].