Save Every Drop Series: How Amla Ruia is bringing water and welfare to rural India.
As published in Nature inFocus on 30 December, 2019.
In the year 1998, the state of Rajasthan was facing yet another drought, resulting in a disastrous famine which affected more than 30,000 villages and 70% of its rural population. Around that time, Mumbai-based Amla Ruia, who generally stayed away from the television, sat down one evening for some small-screen indulgence, and was shocked to see images of Rajasthan’s famine-stricken villages. We all encounter life-altering moments when we least expect them. In the case of Ruia, this moment changed the course of her life, catapulting her on a journey towards water conservation.
Ruia founded the Aakar Charitable Trust in 2003 to promote water conservation in rural India. The Trust not only aims to solve water issues, but also provides long-term solutions that impact the overall development of these rural areas. During her conservation journey, Ruia has transformed the lives of over 6 lakh people in 500+ villages across various states such as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Haryana. Her years of work in water conservation has earned her the moniker Pani Mata or the Water Mother of India. She is also the recipient of the Lakshmipat Singhania IIM Lucknow National Leadership Award and the India Eye International Human Rights Observer Achievement Award.
In this interview, 73-year-old Ruia talks about how water conservation paves the way for greater reform and how the Aakar Charitable Trust (ACT) is transforming rural India, one village at a time.
Read the complete interview here.