In 2014, villagers of Hingangaon, located about 15 km from Ahmednagar in Maharashtra, collected funds to renovate the village school. The student alumni, native professionals working outside the village, and the locals contributed a sum of Rs 70 lakh for the cause.
Happy with the amount that contributors and crowdfunding successfully generated, the villagers wondered that if funds could be collected for school works, could the same be done to conserve water in the drought-hit region?
In 2020, the village, which has a population of 3,500, not only succeeded in making the area drought-free but also reduced migration of locals to other areas.
“The village has been suffering from a water crisis for at least 40 years. Hingangaon falls in the rain shadow region, and hence, experiences less rainfall. During good rain, we saw water running-off the river banks within an hour. It pained us,” says Abasaheb Sonawane, sarpanch of the…