Ketki Sandeep Nandanwar

UR2008

The Right to Water

"Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build bridges even when there are no rivers” - Nikita Khrushvchev
 My speculative intervention includes a water infrastructure in such areas which undergo the lack of facilities promised by the Government. It aims to eliminate the extra expenses that the farmers spend for their needs. I am trying to engage with the politics behind the Sardar Sarovar project which aimed at prospering the industries more, irrespective of the suffering of the native farmers. The idea is to construct advanced water infrastructure which would help in making the claims by the government actually come into an effect and some extra advantages which would make their lives easier. This intervention is much more visible with respect to the existing system of water distribution which helps in addressing these issues out in the open and to give a reality check about the existing condition to the people.

The plan for harnessing the river for irrigation and power generation in the Narmada basin was initiated in 1946 by the Indian government.The length of the irrigation distribution network was stated to be 75,000 km during the early nineties, and recently, the Gujarat Chief Minister quoted a figure of 90,000 km. It has been 74 years since the government had claimed that all of this money spent by them was for the betterment of its local citizens. However, much of the irrigation benefits have not been realized because of delays in the creation of distribution networks. Dam-based irrigation is highly dependent on the development of the command areas through a network of minor and sub-minor canals. In the SSP, the command area development work is lagging behind. In the first phase region in Gujarat — about 41% work on branch canals and 76% work on sub-branch canals remains to be completed. The work on minor and field channels has been inadequate to take irrigation water to farmlands even in the first phase of the command area. As a result, the use of the Narmada waters is dependent on the ownership of diesel pumps and pipes and is, thus, influenced by local power relations. Farmers are investing in diesel pumps and pipes to lift water from the main canal. As much as 45% of the command area in Gujarat is being cultivated by lifting canal water with diesel pumps. So basically, instead of the poor farmers of the villages, it is actually the industries which are getting prospered. This practice was later announced as illegal. Now, if this practice is also announced illegal, then how are the farmers supposed to get their water? “Who gave them the authority to tell me not to take water (from the canal). I will continue taking my water, I have my right on it!” an angry farmer says, sitting in an abandoned thatched hut, surrounded by fields of castor and cotton.


Report Content

CAMPUS SCALE : If we consider the CEPT campus as a television show, the elements that the map highlights would be the cast of that show. All of these things act towards the rainwater in the most interesting ways. I see a potential in them to harvest this water.

The monsoon cafe is a play where I cast these actors and gave them roles to enact according to their caliber.

CITY SCALE : The project agenesis, tries to capture the different topographical, physical and man made elements that lead to the different water issues in the city. We have identified some vacant spaces across the city which may be able to accommodate this stress. This project is focused on developing green infrastructure for the city.

Models

REGIONAL SCALE : Mapping giving a reality check related to the incomplete distribution network

Existing water harnessing techniques

This speculative intervention is an alternative to all the missing branch canals which aim at distributing the water amongst the native farmers as per requirement and incorporating local harvesting techniques with the new building. The structure includes a channel of aqueduct-like structures throughout the site which also develop into smaller infrastructures to make their lives easier.

The Duct Network : The main building is placed on the canal which is responsible for harnessing and collecting water. This water is then sent to different farms through a channel of aqueduct grid structures. These structures spread on the site in a way that the ownership of farmlands remains distinguished.

Not just a duct : While spreading around the farmlands the combination of different aqueducts develop into useful structures.

This network of the waterways at a higher level makes the area more efficient since all the movement takes place, without the work being disturbed, making the space more lively with all the conversations going on at different levels. Thus also increasing the social interaction between the farmers working in their fields.