Salt Flats of Sambhar Salt Lake

Teja Ram at the salt flats near the Sambhar Salt Lake, Ajmer district, Rajasthan. The lake provides work for locals harvesting salt, but has also made groundwater saline for many kilometres around. Teja Ram is co-ordinator of Manthan, and NGO that has installed a solar-powered desalination plant on its campus.

Unique identifier: GP02AJL

Type: Image

Shoot date: 10/08/2010

Locations: Asia, India, Rajasthan, Tilonia

Credit line: © Prashanth Vishwanathan / Greenpeace

Ranking: ★★★★ (E)

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Solar-powered Water Desalination in Rajasthan

The Sambhar Salt Lake is India's largest lake, situated in east-central Rajasthan. The population that lives nearby are facing increasing water shortage not just due to changing rain patterns and the rapid desertification of the state, but also as the salt lake has salinated the groundwater supply for many kilometres around. With no alternative in the dry months, many are forced to drink the heavily-salted water. Yet in Kotri village, Ajmer district, residents can now draw clean drinking water from a reverse osmosis plant powered by solar photovoltaic panels. The technician who cares for the system is a local villager who received little formal education yet learned to manage the plant in just six days. Around one thousand people draw safe water from the plant, which produces 500-600 litres of fresh water per hour.

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