How to mitigate a water crisis? IIM professor explains at TOI River Dialogues

TOI River Dialogues 2025 began in Lucknow on Monday, bringing together policymakers, innovators, corporate leaders, and communities. Impactful discussions were held on initiatives such as Namami Gange, as well as advanced technologies, and community-driven conservation.

Speaking at TOI River Dialogues, Dr Pritam Ranjan of IIM Indore suggested that a water management programme could help mitigate an impending water crisis.

Ranjan said, "IIM Indore is one of the institutes, which has something called rural engagement programme. What we do is, we go to different villages around India, particularly Madhya Pradesh...every year, more than 500 of our students go to these villages. They give them (villagers) training in terms of their livelihood, small businesses and so on."

Also Read | TOI River Dialogues 2025: 'For Bharat, Ganga is not just water — she is our soul,' say experts

He added, "Coming to River Dialogues, may be we should think about some water management programme that will be very helpful to the ground level on how we can revive our waters. Yes, we are focusing on the Ganga and other rivers. But we also have to think about the day-to-day needs for water, and how we can do better management of water so that rivers and water can have a sync."

However, he admitted that private funding would be needed for such programmes.

Ranjan further stated, "We have to reach out to industries and private players to make sure that rivers are not that dirty these days."

The IIM Indore professor was a member of Panel 2 at TOI River Dialogues. He was joined by Kundan Kishore (Head-Business Development and M&A, Adani Group), Ganesh Thorat (CEO, Naam Foundation) and Vinod Tare ( Founding Head, cGanga, Environmental Engineering & Management Programme, IIT Kanpur).

The agenda of discussion for Panel 2 was "Leveraging Public-Private Partnerships For Clean Rivers : Innovation, Investment, and Sustainable Impact."

Their session was moderated by Richa Jain Kallra.

TOI River Dialogues

River Dialogues is pivotal event dedicated to river rejuvenation and sustainable water management in Uttar Pradesh, with a focus on Maha Kumbh 2025.

In Uttar Pradesh, where rivers like the Ganga, Yamuna, Gomti, and many others have nurtured life, spirituality and culture for centuries, there is a growing need to restore and protect their vitality. Times of India's TOI River Dialogues is a thought-provoking series for meaningful conversations and action around river revival and conservation.