‘Jalaggam 2.0’, a national workshop, was held on 10 March 2025 in Bikaner (Rajasthan) to promote the convergence of stakeholders through discussion on rural water security in Bikaner District Industries Association. The event was supported by the CSR Pahal of DCB Bank, while the National Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Institute (NIRDPR) contributed as the Gyan Partner. In this workshop, experts, policy makers, regional workers and community representatives were provided a platform to throw light on sustainable solutions of water conservation.
In 2023-24, regional workshops were organized at four places in Delhi, Telangana, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh under the first workshop chain, which emphasized community adaptation capacity and stability mechanism in terms of water and climate change. This year, these workshops were held in Indore in Madhya Pradesh and Bikaner in Rajasthan, which further expanded the dialogue on water security.
The Bikaner workshop began with the inaugural session, in which Mr. Ramesh Saran (CEO, Uramul Trust), Dr. Ruchira Bhattacharya (Assistant Professor, NIRDPR) and Mrs. Aarti M. Grover (SM Sehgal Foundation) presented their views.
The first panel discussion was conducted by Mr. Salahuddin Saifi (SM Sehgal Foundation), which included Shri Laxman Singh (Village Development Nav Youth Mandal Lapodia – GVNML), Mr. Umendra Dutt (farming inheritance mission) and Mrs. Lata Kachhwa (SURE). In this discussion, experts talked about taking forward the knowledge difference between traditional and modern water management systems as a combined effort.
Subsequently, Mr. Dilip Singh Bidawat (Unnati Foundation) conducted the Open House session, in which community representatives had the opportunity to share their concerns related to water security and present solutions.
The second panel discussion was conducted by Dr. Ruchira Bhattacharya (NIRDPR). In this discussion, Mr. Anshul Ojha (Desert Resource Center) and Dr. Indira Khurana (Indian Himalayan River Basins Council) presented their views on opportunities and challenges in water security.
The Watershed 2.0 Workshop provided the stakeholders to intensify efforts towards cooperating on permanent water management measures and making water conservation a community priority.
About ‘Walkagam’ workshop series
The purpose of the ‘Jalaggam’ workshop series is to promote cooperation in water resources management and share the challenges and best practices in different fields.
DCB works with bank communities and experts to bring impressive changes in sustainable living, water conservation and climate change adaptation projects across India. Projects with SM Sehgal Foundation are related to catchment development and surface water storage and construction of ponds.
SM Sehgal Foundation’s trustee and CEO, Anjali Makhija said, “The joint efforts of DCB Bank and SM Sehgal Foundation have benefited many villages in water conservation and stability. Our partnership has increased with time and it has expanded in six states. The workshop chain is aimed at displaying the community’s efforts and clarifying stability routes for rural water security.”
DCB Bank Limited and SM Sehgal Foundation started work on community water projects in 2017. This cooperation has benefited thousands of communities in six states – Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Telangana, causing more than 365 million (36 million) water storage. These projects include ground water enhancement through check dams, revival of ponds for surface water storage and setting up of rainwater harvesting units in schools, so that drinking water facilities can be accessible.
About DCB Bank
DCB Bank is a new generation private sector bank with 457 branches (till 31 December 2024) across India. It is a scheduled commercial bank regulated by the Reserve Bank of India.
DCB Bank’s business segment is retail, micro-SME, SME, middle-corporate, agriculture, government, public sector, Indian bank, cooperative bank and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs). DCB Bank has about one million customers. The bank has a range of products and services including loans, deposits, online and mobile banking services, investment product distribution, bank guarantee and business finance.