Ripple Effect
When Nagdarwadi's novel solution of harnessing water was featured on Satyamev Jayate's Water episode in 2012, little did sarpanch Hanumant Kendre imagine the impact it would have. In the last two years, over 40,000 people have visited Nagdarwadi to understand how a drought-prone village, has no water shortage today. At least 100 villages have now begun replicating the Nagdarwadi model.
In villages like Policewadi a 50-year-old lake has recently been revived by digging out the silt underneath it, and distributing it as fertilizer to agricultural lands. The farmers have been benefitted by this initiative. "We used to get five quintals of cotton earlier, but now that has doubled," says village resident Shilpatrao Hugi.
The water situation in villages Mugul and Shelgao has improved after following Nagdarwadi's solution. Prabhakhar Shinde elaborates, "For the last 10 years, our well did not have one drop of water-today we are using three motors for pumping it out and we still have over 30 feet of water left."
Women across villages have spoken about how their lives have improved now that water is available to them.
Nagdarwadi and all the other villages who have solved their water problems reiterate the fact that change is indeed possible. Mumkin Hai.