Aamir walks Satyamev Jayate talk in Orange belt

Nagpur: As Aamir Khan dug the ground for percolation tank at Wathoda village, about 100 kms from city in Warud taluka of Amravati district, the locals were ready. With cell phones in one hand for a selfie opportunity, they joined the star in digging work. Khan passed on pails of soil he dug from inside protective ring of his bodyguards and a long queue of volunteers of all ages, including government servants, relayed it further ahead. This was a part of a shram daan (labour contribution) event under the Satyamev Jayate

Water Cup contest

organized by Khan’s NGO, Paani Foundation, to promote

water

conservation. Around 500 villagers gathered to participate in the exercise vying to get in the limelight with the actor. Some police

women

were also seen aiming at Khan with their smartphones. Marathi actors Sai Tamhankar, Reema Lagoo and Sunil Barve were part of the show too. The village that puts in best efforts in water conservation will bag the Water Cup. The works are being done through voluntary contribution and the campaign is being supported by the state government. With three talukas at present Khan plans to cover 300 villages under the plan eventually. The star’s presence may have lit up the mood at Wathoda in the orange growing belt but the area faces a dark future if people indeed do not rise to the occasion, said the government officials taking part in the event. Warud taluka has been in grey zone since 2006. This means the groundwater table has sunk beyond the danger levels and no borewells can be dug here. There is no drinking water crisis as yet, but one cannot be complacent. The officials led by the collector Kiran Gitthe, as well as members of the Paani Foundation, hinted that orange orchards may turn out to be what the sugarcane fields have become for the drought hit Marathwada even though Vidarbha gets much higher rainfall. Like sugarcane even the orange trees are water guzzlers and need to be irrigated throughout the year. A majority of the farmers use flood irrigation method that has water directly gushing into the orchards. In Warud, hardly 5% of land is estimated to be under drip irrigation, said district administration officials present at the event. Satyajit Bhatkal, director of Satyamev Jayate, said “It is time water conservation works are taken up here, otherwise Warud may end up being another Latur.” “Flood irrigation pushes huge amount of water while drip goes straight to the roots. Our team has trained 800 villagers in the state in water conservation,” he said, adding, “The contest at present covers three talukas. These are Koregaon in Western Maharashtra, Ambejogai of Marathwada and Warud of Vidarbha.” Collector Gitthe said that the district administration has submitted a plan for covering the entire district under drip irrigation. “The people are also taking it seriously. It is not just because of Aamir Khan that they have gathered here. Works began in various villages of the taluka since April 20 and the locals regularly work at the site for three hours a day,” said Pramod Bhusari, the tehsildar. Even teams from our department take part in the shram daan on a daily basis. At Wathoda, walls of a small pond were strengthened in mere three hours and a majority of the workforce was of women. Had it been left to the government it would have begun with calling of tenders , he said. ends