Shillong (PTI): The paradoxical drought witnessed by Cherrapunjee, the world's wettest place, during the lean period can be eased by harvesting of rainwater, father of the green revolution Professor M S Swaminathan said.

Expressing concern over the prevalence of "wet drought" in Cherrapunjee, now called Sohra, Swaminathan said urgent steps are required for storing the rainwater received during the monsoons.

"Every year between December and May, the 10,000 people living in Sohra experience a 'wet drought' as the natural springs which are the main source of drinking water dry up completely during this time," he pointed out during the course of a public lecture at the ongoing Indian Science Congress at the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) premises here.

"People have to walk long distances to the plains to collect water and many children spend their time just collecting water," the top scientist rued and emphasized that the only solution is to hold rainwater where it falls. "Every household must have tanks to hold rainwater that can be collected from the roof," Swaminathan stressed.

"Jaisalmer, a district in the hearth of the Thar desert with annual rainfall of 100 mm has shown that if we harvest just 100 mm of rainfall on just 1 ha of land, we can receive as much as 1 million litres of water," he pointed out.

"In Mizoram, every house collects rainwater in tanks made of tin or concrete situated either on the ground or underground which lasts for the non-monsoon months," he added.

"Cherrapunjee, which receives more than 12,000 mm of rain every year can follow the same method," Swaminathan said and called for the formulation of an action plan for fostering water use efficiency.

Pointing out that Cherrapunjee, which is "dotted with waterfalls" is located on top of a limestone plateau, he said limestone "sucks up water".

"The surrounding hills are denuded and more than 50 per cent of the forests are lost. Repeated soil erosion has meant that some of the hillocks around the town are completely denuded. The top mantle which can be recharged by rainwater is extremely thin and is less than a meter in some places and therefore water does not stay because rain hits arid, dry soil and flows off," he explained.

Complimenting the Meghalaya Government for constituting a Rain Water Harvesting Mission to accelerate rainwater harvesting by constructing impounding weirs, he said the National Rain-fed Area Authority can also provide technical help in this regard.