Aug 14, 03: Ram Krishnan on Rain Water Harvesting
With a focus on AKASH GANGA, or “Sky River”, a project based in Chennai (Madras).
Music from "Vande Matram" by A.R. Rehman.
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More on AKASH GANGA: The city of Chennai in India (formerly called Madras) gets an average annual rainfall of 51 inches, which is a lot! Paradoxically, it also suffers from water shortages that are among the worst of any major city anywhere with routine disruptions of Schools, Universities and life in general. The reason for water shortages in a city that gets so much rain is that Chennai, like any densely populated city, is covered with concrete and the rainwater flows through the city roads and storm sewers into the ocean. Only about 5% of this 51" of annual rainfall actually gets into the ground.
In today’s show we will discuss AKASH GANGA (SKY RIVER) project, an effort by a group of engineers, architects, industrialists and social workers, to solve this problem with RAINWATER HARVESTING. Learn how with little effort and money, any house in Chennai, (and in many other parts of the world), can become self sufficient by harvesting rainwater. This project has also developed a Rain Centre, an ordinary house, fully retrofitted with 3 types of Rain Water Harvesting - as a working model for local residents to come and see. It has received visitors from India, Sri Lanka, Europe among other places. August 21 is the first anniversary of the opening of this rain centre.
Our guest will be RAM KRISHNAN an engineering graduate from IIT Madras, who has lived and worked in St.Paul Minnesota for over 30 years. Two years ago, when the IIT Madras campus was partially closed due to shortage of drinking water, he learnt more about the problem, and about Rainwater Harvesting as a low-cost way for every citizen to help solve it. Ram Krishnan started a group consisting of about 10 local RWH experts to promote and encourage Chennai citizens to install RWH. He is currently the United States coordinator of the Akash Ganga project who also helped build the rain center.
