SBI Youth for India helping communities redress water scarcity in South Sikkim

Gangtok, May 6, 2023: Karthick Sakthivel, a Fellow of SBI Youth for India (YFI) Fellowship program (2021-2022) and Social Work and Research Centre (SWRC), Barefoot College, are working with the upper villages of Sukrabarey and Sadam of Sumbuk block, South Sikkim to redress water security by demonstrating rooftop rainwater harvesting techniques and storing seasonal spring water in schools and agricultural lands.

The poly ponds that Sakthivel demonstrated during his Fellowship can be a great tool to support the water scarcity that affects 300+ households of the villages in this region that receive rainfall around 2000 mm during monsoon but fall short of water resources for agriculture and other domestic activities in non-monsoon months of the year.

Many such grassroot projects across the country are being mobilised for local communities by SBI YFI Fellows and their partner NGOs that can self-sustain the development in those regions and empower the rural people with unique solutions for the challenges faced by them. Through various knowledge drives, awareness campaigns and project interventions, SBI YFI Fellows have been able to positively impact over 1,00,000 lives in the country, in 200+ locations.