Uttarakhand launches app to protect water sources

Uttarakhand has launched the Bhagirath mobile application, a state-backed platform designed to enable citizens to map and report deteriorating natural water sources in their villages.

This intervention comes under the ambit of the Jal Sanrakshan Abhiyan 2025, a statewide campaign for water conservation that has set out to rejuvenate the Himalayan state’s traditional water heritage. The campaign’s motto, “Dhara Mera, Naula Mera, Gaon Mera, Prayas Mera” (My Spring, My Stream, My Village, My Effort), underpins a new governance model where communities become central stakeholders in managing and restoring their own water ecosystems. The initiative arrives amid rising concerns over depleting groundwater, vanishing hill springs, and increasing water stress across Uttarakhand’s fragile ecological landscape. Officials said the app is not merely a reporting tool but a participatory instrument for real-time environmental management. Villagers can now geotag drying water sources—like dharaas, naulas, and seasonal rivulets—alerting authorities to intervene swiftly. The mechanism is part of a wider plan to democratise conservation, moving away from top-down interventions towards a hyperlocal, data-led approach that empowers village-level governance bodies.

The Spring and River Rejuvenation Authority (SARA), the nodal agency steering the initiative, has been instrumental in scaling up technical interventions for water sustainability. In the last year alone, SARA has successfully retained over 3.12 million cubic metres of rainwater and initiated conservation efforts across more than 6,500 natural springs and streams. Experts within the agency emphasised that the key to long-term water resilience lies in decentralised monitoring and community stewardship, both of which the app seeks to facilitate. A senior government official pointed out that water conservation is no longer an ecological concern alone—it is foundational to the state’s rural development and economic stability. With increasing migration from hills to plains due to declining water access and agricultural viability, the state’s mountain communities face a demographic and developmental crisis. By arresting water depletion at the source, the campaign aims to sustain rural livelihoods and curb forced migration.

Strategically, the state has also formed Dhara-Naula Conservation Committees at the village level. These grassroots groups will receive training from experts in sustainable water management and environmental engineering, particularly those from academic partners like IIT Roorkee and the National Institute of Hydrology. These institutions are already supporting scientific mapping and rejuvenation plans for several rivers such as Nayar, Song, and Uttarvahini Shipra. Efforts are also underway in the plains, where SARA is collaborating with the Central Ground Water Board to design recharge structures aimed at lifting falling aquifers. This is especially urgent in districts where rapid urbanisation has disrupted natural water cycles and increased dependence on borewell extraction.

Government officials said that a detailed project report is being drafted to undertake scientific revival of key river systems using nature-based solutions, erosion control measures, and pollution mitigation. These rivers, once central to the cultural and agricultural life of Uttarakhand, are now reduced to seasonal flows or have dried up altogether due to changing rainfall patterns and unchecked encroachments. What sets this campaign apart is its commitment to integrating technological innovation with local wisdom. Rather than replacing traditional water conservation knowledge, the Bhagirath app complements it—bringing it into the digital era. The success of this hybrid model will largely hinge on how effectively local governments, especially Gram Panchayats, are capacitated to act on the data collected. The campaign’s timing is also politically and ecologically relevant. With water security emerging as a key electoral and policy issue across India, especially in Himalayan states vulnerable to climate shocks, Uttarakhand is positioning itself as a leader in decentralised, tech-enabled water governance. Officials reiterated that sustainable water management is not only a climate imperative but a developmental necessity.

While the app’s effectiveness will only be visible over time, its launch marks a critical shift towards citizen-led environmental governance. For a state that relies on both its rivers and its people to shape its identity and economy, the move could catalyse a larger transformation—one where digital tools, ecological knowledge, and grassroots participation converge to secure water for future generations.

Uttarakhand launches app to protect water sources