GADAG: Sikandar Meeranaik of Kotumachagi village near Gadag is well known in the northern parts of the state for his water conservation efforts. He has till now rejuvenated nearly 200 lakes and 3,000 defunct borewells in Gadag district.
An expert in recharging dead borewells, Meeranaik has extended his initiative to Koppal, Raichur, Bengaluru North and other places after tasting success in Gadag.
Meeranaik and his team launched work to rejuvenate 150 lakes in Mundargi and other villages after the residents requested him a few months ago. By this month-end, work on 130 lakes will be completed.
Born in little-known Kotumachagi village, which is prone to drought, Meeranaik grew up seeing dried up lakes and people walking 4 km to fetch water from ponds and lakes.
After his bachelor’s degree in social work, Meeranaik joined a government agency involved in water conservation and sanitary projects in Haveri district. He worked there for one-and-a-half years before joining a rainwater harvesting organisation in Bengaluru, where he was introduced to the Deshpande Foundation in Hubballi. A meeting with foundation CEO Naveen Jha changed his life. Naveen not only encouraged him to take up water conservation projects, but also lent him all support.
Meeranaik started his own NGO, Sankalpa Rural Development Society, in 2008 and now employs 25 people. He first launched a small project after Deshpande Foundation offered him Rs 30,000 as seed fund. Using this money, he purchased a second-hand motorcycle and met several industrialists and raised Rs 2 lakh from their CSR funds.
At the beginning, he took up water conservation projects alone. Later, help came from Infosys for a big project and he hired two people. His organisation has grown since then.
Meeranaik’s college professor Anil Vaidya said, “Meeranaik’s efforts have served as an inspiration for local farmers to take up rainwater harvesting initiatives to save their crops during summer. He is now popular for his water conservation initiatives. We are proud of him.”
Meeranaik said, “I have seen people struggling for water since my childhood. I thought I have to do something to help them. I learnt how to recharge defunct borewells. I raised funds from several companies and recharged thousands of defunct borewells. I am now working on various water conservation projects in drought-prone villages. I thank the companies which offered me funds and other help to continue my water conservation initiatives.”