Making Kaalapani Potable


A continuous hunt for potable drinking water and water for the family farm fuelled Sikandar Meeranayak as a child to grow up and solve the issue of water scarcity in many other villagers. A graduate who now runs a successful non-profit organisation in three states, Sikandar tells edex about how he ended up in his chosen profession. “I was born in a small village called Kotumachagi in Gadag district. Our village was entirely dependent on water from the pond for our use. If rains were not sufficient, we had to walk 2km far to some farmer who could afford a borewell. Those days, most did not go to school,” says Sikandar. Forced by shortage of water, the family also drank impure water gathered from any source possible while growing up.

Sikandar ensured he completed high school. An ambitious person who wanted to break free from the shackles of poverty, he got himself a Bachelor of Social Work degree. It was during this time that he was exposed to a government scheme in which he got a chance to build close to 200 farm ponds. “Everyone went to work. The villagers, children and women. After implementation of the pond, we got some money and rice. We lived like this,” he reminisces...............click for more

 

Source: The New Indian Express

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