Fellow Profile Default
Ashoka Fellow since 2002   |   India

Sekhar Raghavan

Akash Ganga Trust - Rain Centre
Dr. Sekhar Raghavan is building a people’s movement in Indian cities to develop rainwater harvesting (RWH) to sustain and protect ground water sources from contamination.
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This description of Sekhar Raghavan's work was prepared when Sekhar Raghavan was elected to the Ashoka Fellowship in 2002.

Introduction

Dr. Sekhar Raghavan is building a people’s movement in Indian cities to develop rainwater harvesting (RWH) to sustain and protect ground water sources from contamination.

The New Idea

To solve the dire problem of insufficient water in urban areas, Sekhar offers a comprehensive package to involve urban citizens in rainwater harvesting. Even though most urbanites realize the acute shortage in the supply of drinking water, the overall approach of government and civil society toRead more

The Problem

Drinking water shortages and artificial floods are common in almost all urban areas. These can occur because of overuse of ground water without replenishing the supply, heavy investment to construct storm water drains that take precious rainwater away from urban areas, and depletion of open spacesRead more

The Strategy

Sekhar believes that regardless of location and rainfall levels, rainwater harvesting is a natural, beneficial choice. He notes that coastal cities, more than any other areas, ought to implement RWH to guard against losing rainwater that otherwise runs into the sea. He notes that in cities awayRead more

The Person

Sekhar spent most of his childhood in the coastal region of Chennai. After his basic education, Sekhar completed a Ph.D. in physics from Madras University. However, his career path shifted to rural studies when he joined the Centre for Social Policy Studies.

Sekhar recalls that Chennai neverRead more