Vidarbha’s ‘Pani Baba’ no more

NAGPUR: Madhukar Dhas — Vidarbha’s Pani Baba — passed away on Saturday. His NGO, Dilasa, is credited to have created village-level irrigation structures at just 10% of the cost than what the government machinery may have taken to do the job. All such structures combined have a potential to create 30,000 acres of farm land. This is comes to 6% of the total potential of Gosikhurd dam which remains to be completed since last three decades.
Since four years, Dhas was working in the dry Marathwada region where he was instrumental in creating MNREGA works worth Rs 200 crore. He also ensured that 2 lakh villagers in Marathwada also get a MNREGA card, say his associates. Dhas’s work on water conservation had earned him the epithet of ‘Pani Baba.’
The 49-year old was suffering from cancer and was undergoing treatment at Tata Hospital, Mumbai.A few months ago, he was conferred the Paanidar Manus award for his great work.
Once a child labourer, he ended up setting an NGO, covering farmers across 1,200 villages. Nearly 7,500 self-help groups (SHGs) were linked with Dhas’s NGO to which another 140 voluntary organizations were also affiliated, said Madhukar Khorasi, technical director of Dilasa and an old time associate.
The ‘Doh’ model which he introduced worked on simple engineering. The silt taken out to open the water streams was used to create embankments on the sides. This reduced the cost by 90% as against a cement structure, said Khorasi.
“He was admitted to the hospital after he complained of constant back ache. After the report came out, Dhas was planning to take Ayurvedic treatment for the disease,” said Tiwari.