Rambabu Tiwari, a PhD student from the Bundelkhand region, embarked on a mission to address water issues at 17. Despite resistance from family and friends, he mobilised villagers to desilt and revive around 75 ponds, earning recognition from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Early on, it was deduced that while everyone loves a revolutionary, no one wants someone of their own to put their life on the line. Thirteen years ago, as a Class 12 student, Tiwari set out on a quest to tackle Bundelkhand’s water woes, a decision that would shape his life and career trajectory.
Tiwari’s earliest memories involve being scolded for accidentally breaking a pot while playing around the house with his friends. Each drop of water was considered gold due to Bundelkhand's complex relationship with water. The region, once interspersed with thick forests, is now characterized by bare, hilly terrain. According to a report by the National Institute of Disaster Management (2014), severe droughts are to blame for this transformation. The report concluded that severe droughts have sharply increased in the last 30 years in Bundelkhand. Records show a spell of one drought every 16 years during the 18th and 19th centuries. From 1968 to 1992, the region saw a drought every five years. However, in the 21st century, the area has already suffered seven years of drought.
These conditions made water conservation second nature for Tiwari, although these ideals blurred when he moved to Allahabad for further studies in 2012. A bathroom of his own, showers for baths, unlimited water supply, and no one having to walk miles to fetch it introduced Tiwari to a whole new world. The initial weeks of this “fantasy life” pushed thoughts of water scarcity out of his mind. However, weekend visits back home did not allow him to forget about his village’s woes. During one of these visits, the realization of his water consumption compared to his family's back home struck him, leading to a moral obligation to practice sustainable lessons learned in environmental studies.
Tiwari's initial efforts to rally against water wastage were met with taunts from his batchmates. Reluctant to give up, Tiwari continued to oppose the shower system in the hostel, noting how, in time, the water wastage was significantly reduced by 40 per cent. Conceiving change in a region almost succumbing to acute drought was challenging, mainly because the villagers had lost hope. Tiwari’s plan was simple. He would return home every weekend from Allahabad and mobilise the people of his village to desilt the ponds.
The first pond of focus was 'Bajrang Sagar,' a pond with an 11-bigha capacity. Situated near Hanuman Mandir, it initially faced resistance from the villagers. To gather support, Tiwari held prayers at the mandir, drawing people in. The importance of desilting the pond was explained to the devotees. Before prasada was distributed, the crowd began digging the silt away. In time, more people joined the weekly effort, and after eight weeks of 24-hour digging sessions every Monday, the pond was cleared entirely.
The monsoon of 2015 was phenomenal for the village of Adhawan, which stood stunned as the pond filled up to its 11-bigha capacity. The water was so abundant that it could be used for irrigation, aside from home and personal use. The success of the pond revival led to a reverse migration, with families who had moved away returning to the village. The water project was founded on keeping village water within the village and field water within the fields. To ensure this, ponds around Bundelkhand were desilted, and troughs of two feet in height were built around fields to collect rainwater for farming purposes post-monsoon.
Water awareness sessions, or paani chaupals, were organized, challenging villagers to reconsider their water usage and conservation techniques. Over 300 such sessions were conducted. Water friends, or 'jal mitras,' were also created, focusing on researching water bodies, working with tank management committees, and raising water conservation awareness. Today, a network of 5,000 water friends across Bundelkhand exists.
Despite the initial ridicule, opposition, and suspicion of ulterior motives, Tiwari's perseverance led to solidarity and acceptance. The number of rural ponds revived by Tiwari and his team has exceeded 75, a testament to their dedication. Tiwari’s journey emphasizes the importance of believing in one's vision and persistently working towards it, regardless of the challenges.