The world is facing the worst ever water crisis, according to recent reports, with 844 million people lacking access to clean water. One of the main problems that cause that is water pollution. Fortunately, there are people like 26-year old Ramveer Tanwar from India, that can’t stand ignoring this problem and who’ve decided to take action.
One day, Ramveer Tanwar realized that the lakes and ponds where he played with his friends when they were children, had started to disappear. Many of the wetlands were polluted and had instead become dumping areas. He decided that it's time to change this and educate people about the significance of having clean water.
Ramveer gave lessons to students from his village at the beginning, and they felt they had to do something about the dying water resources. Ramveer told the children to warn their parents about the existing problem with water conservation and water pollution. Sadly, this did not work, since the villagers refused to believe that they could ever run out of water.
After that, Ramveer decided that he had to do this on his own. Therefore, he went from house to house, to each villager, explaining the issue of the depleting water resources to them. He later told the students to gather their parents together each Sunday in a special place, where he'd facilitate a discussion and suggest methods for water conservation. Finally, it began to happen, and the villagers began to realize the problem they were facing.
The authorities recognized his effort, and the meetings were officially named “Jal Chaupals.”
In 2015, Ramveer along with his team of volunteers, the students, and their parents removed the garbage from that pond. They did not only clean it, but they also planted trees around it. Later, they invited the local administration to come and see the glorious restoration. The good news spread fast; soon enough locals from other villages and districts began to go to Ramveer to ask for the help of their local lakes.
Thanks to the help of volunteers and enthusiasts, many lakes and ponds have been restored. The most critical thing in cleaning those bodies of water was to prevent further pollution. Once the water has been cleaned, the group digs out a separate pit to collect garbage. They then install a double filtration system, which is a filter made of wooden planks and a patch of grasses, to prevent garbage pieces from making their way into the water in the future.
Pits and filters are cleaned once a week.
Ramveer wanted to continue to preserve water in the country and has had to wear many hats in this effort. The government helped him and set up “Groundwater Army” organizations in every district of Ramveer’s state, and the young hero has now become the coordinator of his community. Together they focus on water conservation in the areas. Unfortunately, the government has no fund for those types of awareness programs, and Ramveer had to spend his money to continue what he started.
Preview photo: Ramveer Tanwar / facebook
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