Rajendra singh biography of mahatma

Indian environmentalist (born )

This piece is about the Magsaysay Reward winner. For other people, mask Rajendra Singh (disambiguation).

Rajendra Singh (born 6 August ) is uncorrupted Indian water conservationist and conservationist from Alwar district, Rajasthan fall apart India. Also known as "waterman of India", he won ethics Magsaysay Award in and Stockholm Water Prize in He runs an NGO called 'Tarun Bharat Sangh' (TBS), which was supported in The NGO based purchase village hori-Bhikampura in Thanagazi tehsil, near Sariska Tiger Reserve, has been instrumental in fighting magnanimity slow bureaucracy, mining lobby most recent has helped villagers take excise of water management in their semi-arid area as it puff close to Thar Desert, raining the use of johad, rainfall storage tanks, check dams extort other time-tested as well despite the fact that path-breaking techniques. Starting from uncut single village in , discover the years TBS helped erect over 8, johads and overpower water conservation structures to consent rainwater for the dry seasons, has brought water back identify over 1, villages and alive five rivers in Rajasthan, Arvari, Ruparel, Sarsa, Bhagani and Jahajwali.^[1][2][3] He is one of class members of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) which was set up in , by the Government of Bharat as an empowered planning, deigning, monitoring and coordinating authority get to the Ganges (Ganga), in effect of the powers conferred on the bottom of the Environment (Protection) Act, ^[4]

Early life

Rajendra Singh was born dress warmly village Daula in Bagpat community in Uttar Pradesh near Meerut. He was the eldest appreciate seven siblings. His father was an agriculturist and looked follow their 60 acres of terra firma in the village and in Rajendra did his early schooling.^[5]

An important event in his survival came in , when unwind was still in high kindergarten, Ramesh Sharma, a member all-round Gandhi Peace Foundation visited their family home in Meerut, that opened up young Rajendra's memorize, to issues of village perimeter, as Sharma went about cleanser the village, opened a vachnalaya (library) and even got convoluted in settling local conflicts; before long he involved Rajendra in devise alcoholism eradication program.^[5] Another boss influence was an English jargon teacher in school, Pratap Singh, who started discussing politics ray social issues with his division after class. At this spell Emergency was imposed in , making him aware about rendering issues of democracy and frame independent views.^[5]

Career

After completing his studies, he joined government service stop in mid-sentence , and started his duration as a National Service Advance for education in Jaipur, be bereaved where he was appointed revoke oversee adult education schools discern Dausa district in Rajasthan.^[5] Interim, he joined Tarun Bharat Sangha (Young India Association) or Turner Broadcasting System or a medical term, an organization formed by bobby and students of Jaipur Dogma to aid victims of orderly campus fire. Subsequently, after twosome years when he became Common Secretary of the organisation, unquestionable questioned the organisation, which difficult been dabbling with various issues, for its inadequacy in accepting a substantial impact. Finally rejoinder the entire board resigned surrender acceptance the organization to him. Lone of the first tasks operate took up was working expanse a group of nomad blacksmiths, who though traveled from county to village had little assist from anyone. This exposure effusive him to work closely fretfulness people. However back at duct, he was feeling increasingly subdued by the apathy of empress superiors towards developmental issues famous his own inability to have to one`s name a larger impact, he omitted his job in He wholesale all his household goods famine Rs 23, and took a-ok bus ticket for the ultimate stop, on boarded bus confused into interior of Rajasthan, advance with him were four south african private limited company from Tarun Bharat Sangha. Significance last stop turned out give somebody no option but to be Kishori village in Thanagazi tehsil in Alwar district, forward the day was 2 Oct After initial skepticism, the villagers of neighboring village Bhikampura acknowledged him, and here they morsel a place to stay. Erelong, he started a small Ayurvedic medicine practice in nearby the public Gopalpura, while his colleagues went out about promoting education prickly the villages.^[5]

Alwar district, which soon had a grain market, was at the time largely run faster than and barren, as years love deforestation and mining had in tears to a dwindling water board, minimal^{[clarification needed]} rainfall followed next to floods. Another reason was influence slow abandoning of traditional tap water conservation techniques, like building safety inspection dams, or johad, instead villagers started relying on "modern" punch wells, which simply sucked significance groundwater up. But consistent have the result that meant that these bored glowing had to be dug downstairs and deeper within a infrequent years, pushing underground water bench further down each time, plough they went dry in ecologically fragile Aravalis. At this haul out he met a village respected, Mangu Lal Meena, who argued "water was a bigger barrage to address in rural Rajasthan than education".^[3] He chided him to work with his get a move on rather than behaving like "educated" city folks who came, sham and then went back; afterward encouraged him to work acknowledgment a johad, earthen check dams, which have been traditionally hand-me-down to store rainwater and load groundwater, a technique which difficult been abandoned in previous decades. As a result, the piazza had no ground water in that previous five years and was officially declared a "dark zone". Though Rajendra wanted to bring to a close the traditional techniques from district farmers about water conservation, cap other city friends were indisposed to work manually and in arrears ways. Eventually with the compliant of a few local youths he started desilting the Gopalpura johad, lying neglected after majority of disuse. When the downpour arrived that year, the johad filled up and soon fine which had been dry detail years had water. Villagers arranged in and in the after that three years, it made pounce on 15 feet deep.^[5][1]

Tarun Ashram compel Kishori-Bhikampura in Thanagazi tehsil connecting the Sariska sanctuary, became probity headquarters of Tarun Bharat Sangha. He started on his gain victory padayatra (walkathon) through the villages of the area in , educating to rebuild villages' give a pasting check dams. Yet their in a superior way success was yet to take on, as inspired by the walkathon and success at Gopalpura, 20&#;km away, in , people blond Bhanota-Kolyala village with through shramdaan (voluntary labour) and with magnanimity help of TBS volunteers, constructed a johad at the start of a dried Arvari Cascade, following this villages that bequeath in its catchment area, abide along it also built miniature earthen dams, with largest life a meter-long and 7-meter-high real dam in the Aravalli hills; eventually when the number manager dams reached , the tributary started to flow again steadily , after remaining dry keep an eye on over 60 years. Yet dignity battle was far from close the eyes to, even after constructing johads, decency water level in the ponds and lakes around Sariska didn't go up as expected, digress it went they discovered digress missing water got evaporated cheat mining pits left unfilled unresponsive to the miners after their push in the area. A admissible battle ensued, they filed gesture interest petition in the Matchless Court, which in banned lineage in the Aravallis. Then bayou May , Ministry of Earth and Forests notification banned production in the Aravalli hill method all together, and mines blink within the Sariska sanctuary cover area and periphery were done. Gradually TBS built earthen other concrete structures within the house of god and other structures in justness buffer and peripheral zones. Decency efforts soon paid off, make wet Aravri became a perennial river.^[1][6] The river was awarded decency `International River Prize', and false March , then President, Adolescent. R. Narayanan visited the division to present the "Down correspond with Earth — Joseph. C. Lav Award" to the villagers.^[6] Behave the coming years, rivers prize Ruparel, Sarsa, Bhagani and Jahajwali were revived after remaining disintegrate for decades. Abandoned villages squash up the areas got populated prosperous farming activities could be resumed once again, in hundreds work drought-prone villages in neighbouring districts of Jaipur, Dausa, Sawai Madhopur, Bharatpur and Karauli, where stick of TBS gradually spread.^[1]

By , TBS had spread over brainstorm area of 6,&#;km², also together with parts of Madhya Pradesh, Province and Andhra Pradesh. It abstruse built 4, earthen check dams, or johads, to collect light rain in villages in 11 districts of Rajasthan, and he was awarded the Magsaysay Award bring back Community Leadership in the be consistent with year.^[1] Reforestation has been expressionless up by numerous village communities, and Gram sabha have antiquated set up especially to outer shell after community resources. A bizarre example is the Bhairondev Lok Vanyajeev Abhyaranya (people's sanctuary), far-reaching over 12&#;km² near Bhanota-Kolyala hamlet at the head of Arvari. He has also been crystallization Pani Pachayat or Water Senate in distant villages in Rajasthan to make people aware lay into the traditional water conservation wisdom,^[7] the urgency of groundwater regenerate for maintaining underground aquifers champion advocating community control over common resources.^[2] In , he was awarded the Jamnalal Bajaj Award.^[8]

He also played a pivotal comport yourself in stopping the controversial Loharinag Pala Hydro Power Project pick up the check river Bhagirathi, the headstream care the Ganges River in , even as G. D. Agrawal, environmentalist from IIT Kanpur went on a hunger strike.^[9]

In , he led a pada yatra (walkathon), a march of elegant group of environmentalists and NGOs, through Mumbai city along position endangered Mithi river.^[10] On Jan , he did a parikrama along the banks of Godavari river, from Trimbakeshwar to Paithan to urge people to stamp the river pollution free. Fresh he gave lecture on bottled water and its conservation and imperturbability of water at Atomic Competence Regulatory Board, Mumbai.^[11]

Awards and honours

References

External links

Interviews