Ramveer Tanwar, an engineer, is known as India’s ‘Pond Man.’ He left a lucrative MNC job to revive dead ponds across the country. In six years, he has given life to at least 80 ponds. He came into limelight after Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised his initiative to save nature. He was recently declared a brand ambassador of Swachh Bharat Mission, Ghaziabad, and appointed district coordinator of the ‘Groundwater Force’ by the UP government. In a discussion with Anup Verma, Tanwar shares his experience about what is closest to his heart, ponds Excerpts:
What is pond rejuvenation, how do you do it?
The revival of a pond is the process to save biodiversity by making water bodies alive. There are multiple reasons for the decay of water bodies such as reduced catchment area, garbage dumping, and encroachment. Dumping of sewer and other hazardous materials in ponds also destroys the pond ecosystem. The revival of ponds needs a pragmatic and coordinated approach, including filling the catchment areas with water, removal of garbage, among others. We approach and get help from government agencies, NGOs and CSR funds to get it done with the help of villagers. It generates some employment in villages as well.
How many ponds have you revived through your efforts?
We have revived 38 ponds in Delhi-NCR and around 80 water bodies across the country, including Karnataka, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. It takes nearly six months to restore the biodiversity required for a pond.
What challenges do you encounter while carrying out pond revival?
Recently, we revived a pond in Neyphal village in Ghaziabad, which was the most challenging work among all. It was full of dead animals and garbage. It was a giant exercise. We restored it with the help of the administration and villagers. Earlier, nobody came near the area, but now it has been turned into a tourist spot where a selfie point has also been created.
From where do you get inspiration to devote yourself to this work?
We used to talk about reviving ponds in school days. We had also formed a ‘Jal Chaupal’ where we discussed our plans. With time, I went to college and thereafter joined an MNC as an engineer. I left my job later to complete the work of pond rejuvenation. Now, it has become my full-time job to restore water bodies and save the environment.
How did you come to be recognized as ‘Pond Man’?
My friends and office colleagues nicknamed me as such, but after PM Narendra Modi talked about me and our initiatives during his ‘Maan Ki Baat’ programme, my media friends gave me that name. Later several state governments officially recognised my work.
Have you ever faced threats from criminals or encroachers?
I along with my team have faced such challenges. What we do is that we first get a NOC from the authorities concerned, discuss the process of work execution with locals and involve them as much as we can. Since we employ the locals, they support our initiative.