How “Waterman Of India” Revived Five Rivers And Brought Back Water To Over 1,000 Villages

waterman

Rajendra Singh, known as “Waterman of India” or “Water Ghandi”, is a water conservationist who managed to restore five Indian rivers that had dried up and bring water to over 1,000 villages. Read more from Oddity Central:

In 1985, after graduating from college, Rajendra Sing went back to his home in Rajasthan’s Alwar district. Most villagers had left their homes after the local Arvari River had dried up in the ’40s, and the only people who remained were either too old or too poor to move elsewhere. Singh, driven by a strong desire to help the villagers, took on the task of bringing water back to those lands.

He came up with a unique strategy, drawing on principles from the ancient Indian knowledge of geology, hydrology, and ecology. He began building small dams known as ‘johads’ and check dams that slowly collected water during the rainy season so that it could be used for human or animal consumption throughout the year.

Also the stored water slowly percolated into the ground and replenished groundwater supplies. In a few years’ time, the Waterman gradually rejuvenated vegetation in over 1,000 villages, aquifers used for local drinking water were refilled, and the water retention capacity of the soil increased. It wasn’t long before the Arvari River came back to life, along with four other rivers in the region.