Tata Motors’ Amritdhara initiative provides a ray of hope to water-deprived communities in Uttarakhand
Through the Amritdhara initiative powered by Tata Motors, people in rural areas of Ranikhet and Almora have been able to find a solution to the water crisis. This program is being run by Tata Motors in collaboration with its NGO SMDF (Sumant Mulgaonkar Development Foundation). Despite running Atal Bhujal Yojana, the world’s largest community-led groundwater management program, only half of our country’s population (about 51%) has access to safe drinking water.
Tata Motors is leading this community centric initiative called Amritdhara Program through NGO (SMDF). The organization has created a strong network of 146 wells in the hilly areas of Uttarakhand in the last 13 years. These wells supported by the Gram Panchayat have become the basis of life for the villagers. Through this, 10.24 lakh liters of clean drinking water is being provided daily to 3,654 houses in the last decade. In addition to this sustained effort towards using natural resources to provide water, rooftop rainwater harvesting systems have also been installed in 11 government schools, providing clean drinking water to 2200 students and teachers.
Highlighting the impact of the Amritdhara programme, Vinod Kulkarni, CSR Head, Tata Motors, said, “Access to clean water still remains a distant dream for many. However, even government bodies are making efforts to provide easy access to water to the people. Many initiatives have been taken, but collaborative projects have a lasting impact as well as more success around the world. Tata Motors has been a driving force in providing water access in Uttarakhand. This has saved women’s time, leading to Women empowerment has gained momentum and enrollment of girls in rural schools is also increasing. We are proud of this change that has taken place in Uttarakhand and will continue to enhance our efforts to bring about a lasting and positive change.
