If Farmers Sell Kidneys to Repay Debt, Society Has Failed: Anaspure

Nagpur: Noted Marathi actor and Naam Foundation secretary Makarand Anaspure on Monday said the country "as a society" has failed if farmers are being driven to sell organs to repay debts.Addressing the Jal Kranti Parishad in Nagpur, Anaspure linked farmer distress to water insecurity, unplanned urbanisation, and declining ecological balance, while calling for a mass movement centred on water conservation and sustainable development."If a farmer has to sell his kidney to repay debts, then what are we doing as a society?" the actor said. "Farmers continue to struggle despite feeding the country. Agriculture cannot survive unless farmers receive water security and fair economic returns," he said.Anaspure said rapid concretisation in cities is causing floods as well as groundwater depletion. "We are covering everything with concrete and then wondering why rainwater causes floods instead of recharging the earth," he said, warning that expanding urbanisation was destroying natural drainage channels and intensifying water scarcity.Anaspure said rivers, often revered culturally as "mothers", were being neglected and polluted despite society's dependence on them. "People spend time cleaning themselves, but the rivers in their villages and cities are left drowning in filth. Our rivers must be protected from pollution and neglect," he said.Saying that even small-scale water projects could transform rural livelihoods, Anaspure called for "water literacy" in schools. Awareness about rainwater harvesting, watershed management, and ecological conservation should begin at an early age, he said.Anaspure also highlighted the work carried out by the Naam Foundation across Maharashtra and other parts of the country. He said a 70-acre lake rejuvenation project at Kuhitakli near Nagpur created irrigation potential for nearly 250 acres of farmland.The foundation has undertaken watershed and water storage projects across Vidarbha, Konkan and Marathwada, while also working in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Anaspure said. "Large-scale environmental change is possible only when people participate in the initiative collectively," he said.Anaspure also pointed to changing rural economies linked to infrastructure projects, saying land values in some villages increased after the construction of the Samruddhi Highway, demonstrating how development planning could reshape agricultural regions when implemented responsibly.