QUESTIONNAIRE- S VISHWANATH-THE ZENRAINMAN

1. You are a civil engineer and an urban planner by qualification. But professionally,
you are a water activist. What brought you to the field of water management and
sanitation?
2. “it is very easy to point someone and say that make him/her as role model, but it is
difficult to say that look at me and make me as role model” Your home serves as an
exemplary model of how far one can implement water and waste water management
techniques in own house. Can you explain the techniques used in your house?
3. What was your inspiration in setting up a rain water club? What prompted you to
initiate it?
4. According to the data of Central water commission- Annually India receives more
rain water than it needs. But the problem is India captures only 8% of it annual
rainfall- which is the lowest statistics among the world. Do you think that sustainable
water management is the major goal that every sphere in India to achieve?
5. What are the steps or criteria’s you are following to arrive at a solution for what type
of water system be best suitable for a project?
6. From your experience what was the best possible water management system to
implement foe a single dwelling unit in a small plot?
7. “We have many things to learn from our past”- The million recharge wells project in
Bangalore reveals us the same. Can you elaborate?
8. Local people in rural areas have more knowledge about what could be done in crisis,
than civilised urban people. However, they don’t have efficient technological and
economical support/resource to implement the same. Do you agree with this?
a. If yes, can you share any such experience?
b. How do we overcome this difference?
9. Kerala and many other states in India had experienced a series of flood and drought in
previous years. What are the measures that can be done to prepare ourselves against
floods and drought?
10. Currently, institutions are incapable of meeting the sanitation needs of the country. As
a water activist can you suggest the measures to be taken by the public to make the
authorities aware of their needs?
 a. What are the possible solutions that the authorities can implement to meet the
society’s needs, (in policy and technology)?
11. In terms of water management and sanitation What do you think about the challenges
and future of India?
12. “Singapore is a model for water management, and our cities can learn a lot on how
best to tap nature and technology”-as been quoted from your article “The ‘four taps’
approach”. Can you explain?
13. What should we do to make the common man water literate?
14. “A permanent job is that you get too attached to comforts, but when you see that its
not challenging enough, those comforts have no meaning.” As quoted from one of
your interviews- Can you elaborate?

Nizya Mol
S2, M.arch
MES SOA