Earth Matters - TV programmes helps people take initiative

Wed, May 14 06:34 PM

Shivani Bhakhry New Delhi, May 14 (PTI) For them climate change was a distant process occuring in far away places. It could not affect them as they had never done anything to harm the environment.

But had they done anything to support the environment? They never realised that the depleting water levels in the once water rich region could be a result of climate change and that they could save it. According to the people of Rajgarh and Solan in Himachal Pradesh, the hilly terrains used to receive heavy rainfall at one point of time, but in the recent years this has reduced considerably causing the ground water to deplete.

However, one programme not only helped them to understand the causes of the depleting water levels but also helped them with ways to conserve it. Doordarshan's environment and wildlife series "Earth Matters" not only acquainted them with the effects of climate change but also told them about water conservation and afforestation as some of the solutions to deal with the problem.

After viewing the programme, the people of the region decided to take steps to deal with the problem and thus came up the Earth Matters Nature Club. The group headed by Tilak Vij, a farmer from Himachal Pradesh, along with the people of the region started working towards building water storage tanks using all renewable resources and rain water harvesting.

They started planting more and more trees to stop soil erosion. "We never realised that we ourselves were causing deforestation leading to soil erosion which in turn was depleting the quality of the crops.

We have dug small ponds and earthen tanks to store the rain water and utilise it for irrigation purposes," Vij told PTI. PTI.

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