This Noida-based mechanical engineer is reviving ponds to fight water scarcity

A 26-year-old mechanical engineer is creating water awareness in villages and reviving ponds to fight the problem of water scarcity.

Greater Noida-based Ramveer Tanwar quit his job with an MNC for the cause of reviving small ponds. He has saved ten ponds till date in the past five years.

Speaking to ANI, Tanwar said he has seen water mistreatment since childhood in his area and started creating awareness since then.

"I completed my B.Tech in 2014 and did my M.Tech in 2016. During student days, I started creating awareness regarding sustainable use of water. In big cities, people have to pay about 20 rupees for a liter of drinking water but in the village people were wasting hundreds of liters of water just because they were getting it for free. I was shocked to calculate the cost of water being wasted so I started sanitising villages by making door to door campaign," says Tanwar.

Soon, Tanwar started organising Jal-chaupals to create water awareness. The word spread to other villages and reached the district administration, which further encouraged him to take up the initiative at a larger scale, which, in turn, helped him revive ponds.

The 26-year-old focusses on cleaning of ponds by natural, simple and cost-effective ways like making filter systems and encouraging farmers to do fishery.

"I had read a book by Anupam Mishra in which he wrote extensively on artificial ponds, I was inspired by it. After reading the book I realised the greater purpose of these ponds and why our elders constructed it. This is a heritage which needs to be respected instead of making it a dumping ground," he said.

Tanwar has also been able to convince villagers and panchayats for stepping out for water conservation.

"After we started reviving ponds, we started involving local villagers in it so that they get emotionally connected with it. Hence they also take care of it and fight pollution," he added.

Tanwar is now also raising funds to expand his initiative to more and more villages to revive more ponds in the future.