When the borewells of his apartment complex dried up and water tankers became an expensive burden, Ganesh Shanbhag refused to sit back and watch. Instead of accepting water shortages as an unavoidable part of life, he decided to take action — and in doing so, he changed the way hundreds of Bengaluru apartments manage water.

Every morning, residents across the city wake up to the same struggle — empty water tanks, rising tanker prices, and the constant fear of running out of water. But what if the solution had been right above us all along, pouring down from the sky?

He saw potential in rainwater harvesting (RWH), a concept met with initial scepticism about its cost and complexity. Neighbours told him it was too expensive. Others dismissed it as ‘too technical.’ But Ganesh was determined to prove them wrong. Undeterred, he mobilised his community, and together, they designed and built an efficient rainwater harvesting system for an apartment complex with 100 flats—all for under Rs 3 lakh—

© The Better India