September 28, 2024

Locals are rejuvenating lakes and reviving hope in India’s villages

topic:	Conservation
located:	India
editor:	Bindu Gopal Rao

The water crisis in India came to the forefront during this harsh summer. Though the monsoon has made many forget the same, some community members acknowledge water scarcity is an issue that needs attention. Luckily, people have been at the forefront of making a difference.

For instance, the work of Asha S, the founder of NGO Arohana Grameenabhivruddhi Samsthe Minijenahalli, has significantly impacted Karnataka’s Kolar district. Her project has assisted over 1350 households in diverting wastewater to agricultural fields. She has led efforts to rejuvenate ten lakes, desilting 130000 cubic meters and increasing water storage capacity by 13 crore litres. Additionally, she has facilitated rainwater harvesting in four government schools, recharged drinking water borewells in 13 villages, and worked on water canal rejuvenation in 10 villages to improve water flow to the lakes.

Asha explains, “Our work is concentrated in one Panchayat, O.Mittur, in Mulbagal, Kolar district. This area has 26 lakes, with 22 being the primary ones, and we are focused on their rejuvenation. We collaborate closely with Bengaluru’s Biome Trust and have successfully designed ten lakes with support from corporate partners Valtech, Analog Devices and Carrier Global. We have also revived four wells, two of which provide drinking water. 

The Rotary Bengaluru Lake Ward has assisted in rejuvenating three wells, directly benefiting 16 farmers who had no other water source. We have developed Gokuntes in four lakes, small, square cavities that hold water, which have made a significant difference during the harsh summer.”

Likewise, Nimal Raghavan has worked to rejuvenate hundreds of water bodies across Tamil Nadu and other parts of India. He quit his job in Dubai to come back to his village, Nadiyam, in Tamil Nadu post-2018’s cyclonic storm Gaja and has worked tirelessly through his NGO, Mega Foundations (founded in 2020) and other organisations to ensure water shortage issues are addressed.

He and his team have empowered millions of people to access clean water resources, and he focuses on maintaining water bodies and raising groundwater levels.

Since 2018, the foundation has worked on water body restoration, restoring 212 lakes, 1480 km of rivers and river canals, and helping raise the groundwater level and water table from 350 feet to 30 feet. His team has revived several failed borewells, allowing farmers to return to work. 

“About 40 lakh [4 million] farmers have benefitted.” Says Raghavan. “We have been working for the last two years in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, the driest place in South India and have restored ten water canals of around 140 km and 25 lakes; farmers can harvest even two to three crops yearly. Now we are working on restoring two big canals, one which is 50 km and one 45 km in Ramanathapuram, and are on a mission to help 455 villages in the Kamudhi, Kadalaadi and Muthukalathur taluks,” he continues.

He has also restored five lakes in Kenya’s Kitui. While restoring lakes has helped with water woes in these regions, it remains to be seen how this can be replicated elsewhere.

Image by Ton W.

Call to Action

Support environmental protection in India

Support now