The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : A meaningful existence

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 11, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

A meaningful existence

`Jal Purush' and Magsaysay awardeeRajendra Singhshares withM.L. Melly Maitreyi, his experiences of how the commonest of the commoners can make a world of difference.

Not every one chucks up a comfortable job in his late twenties to work with rural youth. But when Rajendra Singh went to Gopalpura in Alwar district of Rajasthan in 1984, there were no youngsters as they had migrated to distant places in search of work leaving behind the aged and children, he recalls.

"Do you know why our village is deserted?" An old man Mangu Meena asked him and took him to a parched village tank and said, "As long as there was water here, the wells were full. No one went out for work. We had grain and milk, but with this area going dry, calamity befell us. Make a bund if you want to help."

Singh trusted the old man's wisdom and started digging the area. Four years and the first bund later, copious rain in 1988, filled the tank. Youth returned to the village enthused. Mangu invited relatives from 45 villages to witness the spectacle and hear Singh speak. A motivated lot went about replicating the project in their villages and there was a cascading effect, literally.

"The results were amazing. In 22 years, 8,600 tanks were revived in 19 districts of Rajasthan and five dead rivers Arwari, Rapareil, Sarsa, Jahajwali and Bhagani sprang to life again", said Mr. Singh.

Magsaysay award

His work won him the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award for community leadership in 2001. But the movement's success with rooted-to-the-soil approach unnerved those in power and mocked the futility of big projects. Singh paid the price in the form of assaults and the recent demolition of Water University set up by him in Tijara Jatmalar village.

Tarun Bharath Sangh (TBS), the NGO he runs, works with the poor and formed River Parliament with local people for judicious use of water and to keep pollutants at bay. "Our work is community -driven and the USP- de-centralised natural resource management. More than linking of rivers, linking minds in civic society with the river, is needed".

Spirited approach

Do hurdles dishearten him? "No, we move on. Hurdles don't break my spirit and hope keeps me charged", says this Ayurveda doctor who quit practice years ago for his movement and believes the Rajasthan example can be replicated in Telangana and Rayalaseema too.

While his supportive wife Meena and children, Moulik and Renu live in Jaipur, Singh is always on the move as his mission fills his vision. And the heart too!

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