He was walking on the dead river bed of the Agrani River
in Sangli district. As he started walking, people started joining him and just
a walk became a march for cause. The cause was to bring
the Agrani River to life. Many people could feel that the Paniwala Baba-Water
Man can speak to the rivers, he can understand their plight and bring them
back. The march turned into a public meeting and Paniwala Baba became the
initiator- Rajendra Singh.
Singh, always in his Khadi kurta and cotton pants has
been known as the Paniwala Baba because he has reinvented the ingenious concept
of ‘Johad’- the rainwater storage tanks and mud and rubble barriers that arrest
rainwater under the ground. This indigenous and simple system has transformed
the Rajasthan in to happy state as more than 1000 villages in the state have
got easy access to water. He has now decided to transform the unhappy drought
situation in Maharashtra.
Singh has already started working to rejuvenate four
rivers in Maharashtra - Agrani, Manganga, Yerala, and Adan. While speaking
about the conditions of dying river Singh says, “the rivers are yours, become
their owners and transform them.” Back in Rajasthan, Singh has initiated the
people to clean the river, build their own check dams and conserve water. He
has named his movement as the ‘Jan Jal Jodo
Abhiyan’ (People Water Connect).
While making people aware about the drought
situation in Maharashtra, Singh is continuously spreading the message that how
we ourselves can get over this drought situation. “There was only 40 per cent
of rains in Rajasthan, if it can survive then so can Maharashtra with as good
as 70 per cent of rains.”
Singh believes that, if we follow only three things
then our rivers will be transformed and can stay lively. These are River land
should be encroachment free, sewerage and river should be separated and sand
mining should be completely stopped. “But this is not enough, the work can only
be completed with people participation means our participation.”
1 comment:
Very inspiring... thanks Greeny...
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