“We have planned a holistic approach and steps will be taken wherein rain water harvesting and a distribution system for livelihood, forestry and agriculture will be created together with the local experts for phase-wise implementation,” Ashkenazy said in a statement. 

The first phase of the restoration work began in February and the experts with work in collaboration with the State department of Soil and Water Conservation and the locals. The team will jointly plan and construct suitable systems to collect, store and transport rainwater and to create livelihood for the people, he said adding, they would also work out a system to create bridges between the areas where water is available and those where it is in short supply as well as between the rainy and the dry seasons. 

Experts blame large-scale deforestation in the area, which receives an annual rainfall of 12,000 mm, for the disappearance of perennial springs in the hills resulting in acute water crisis to the extent that people here are finding it difficult to get even drinking water.