In the backdrop of the acute water crisis gripping Maharashtra, environmental groups, in conjunction with the local administration, have embarked on a unique initiative to rejuvenate ancient water sources of the famed pilgrim town of Alandi, 28 km from Pune. With Alandi’s residents struggling with water scarcity, this initiative aims at rejuvenating these extremely polluted kundas while conserving the town’s natural water heritage and ecologically reviving the depleted groundwater table. Given the paucity of water in Maharashtra and with natural resources depleting at an alarming rate, the rationale is to conserve our natural water heritage,” Sachin Punekar, founder-president of Biospheres, told The Hindu. A number of live springs which form the water source for these ancient reservoirs originate in these groves which is rich in biodiversity. This natural water heritage has to be preserved for future security of the livestock in this area as well,” he said.

Source: The Hindu May 16, 2019 18:33 UTC