Nagpur: Over 1.25 lakh people living in cities of the state have registered with Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan’s
Paani Foundation for voluntary work in 4,000 villages. As ‘Jalmitras’, they will participate in ‘Maha Shramdan’ activity on May 1, Maharashtra Day.
Online registration is open till midnight on Wednesday and more may join the unique, people’s battle against drought in the state. The watershed management programme by the Foundation run by Aamir and his wife Kiran Rao that started in 2016 with 16 villages has now grown into a public movement in 24 of state’s 36 districts aiming to make rural Maharashtra drought-free.
“We are doing this work for ourselves, moved by reports that 150 of the 358 talukas in the state were facing water scarcity and how people were suffering in summer months,” said Aamir, talking to reporters here on Tuesday. He and Kiran were here for a shoot at Wardha during the day.
Once a village seeks their help, Paani Foundations selects five from that village for a training programme of five days to give scientific information of watershed management work. “Today we have 65 training centres, each in the village where we have already worked and turned them into model of water sufficiency,” said Aamir. The five volunteers then lead the work in their village with local resources.
By stopping runaway water during rains through watershed management measures, the groundwater table is raised. Success stories abound of how villagers lives have changed once water is available and used sensibly, said Aamir. “Satyamev Jayate’ Water Cup is given to the village that excels in the work in a competition among the villages and and top three get prizes of Rs 75 lakh, Rs 50 lakh, and Rs 40 lakh.
Asked why he has not made a film on the sensitive issue, Aamir said that would have been far easy and but it would only raise awareness. Instead, what he was doing through the foundation was direct action, motivating people to fight the drought for their own betterment and that of environment.
