India - the water keepers

Traversing through Northern India, through Gujarat all the way to the Bay of Bengal, Priscilla Telmon is on the search to discover and meet the men and women who fight to find more efficient ways to use water, a now limited resource. After her arrival in Suthri, in Gujarat, Priscilla spends several days learning about the system to collect dew in this very arid region. Along the hillsides, tarps that condense the humidity of the air have now become part of the landscape. To make the 1000 km trip to Rajasthan, Priscilla rides on a “Tata” truck, a now common sight throughout India. In Alwar, Rajasthan, Priscilla meets Rajendra Singh who speaks about his project to construct reservoirs to fight against the worsening desertification in the region. Then it’s a night train to Varanasi, a city on the Ganges that welcomes thousands of pilgrims who come to bathe in the sacred, yet sadly very polluted, waters of the Ganges. Priscilla meets Veer Bhadra Mischra, spiritual leader, great village priest, and main activist for the treatment of used water that gets thrown into the Ganges every day. Moving from rolling hills to flatter lands closer to the sea, Priscilla poses the question about recyclability of dirty, already used water. In Bhubaneswar, Doctor Jena heads a treatment center for used water through fish farming. This project aims to unblock the city’s sewage system and to create a source of income for families. Her trip ends at the seaside: from drops of water of the Suthri hills to the ocean waters of the Bay of Bengal...

Pariscience 2008
: Thursday 09th October 2008 from 10h00 to 11h30