In Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, Ramveer Tanwar , known as “Pond Man,” is revolutionising water conservation. An environmentalist and TEDx speaker, he began his journey during his student days, focusing on saving local water bodies. His initiative, ‘Jal Chaupal,’ has transformed community attitudes towards preserving ponds, lakes, and wetlands. Efforts of Ramveer Tanwar have gained official recognition as a pivotal movement by engaging children and their families in informative discussions.
Early Inspiration:
The degraded state of my native village’s pond acted as a stimulus that changed the direction of my life. I was then an engineer working with a multinational company in Noida. It so happened that I was going about my business in the village when an ugly sight caught my attention. I realized that it was the pond of our village that held a special place in my childhood memories. When I was young, I used to take our cattle for grazing on the grasses that grew abundantly around this pond. While the cattle grazed and wallowed in the pond, I used to sit on its shore, reading or playing. It was a part of my daily routine. Sitting there, I got to see a lot of different birds, ducks, a variety of butterflies, moths, mammals, and fishes. I developed a bond with my pond. As my life got busy and I was engrossed in my family and profession, I forgot about my pond. But years later when I saw it, my heart missed a beat. It was full of plastic and all types of solid waste. The sight was displeasing. A foul odor emanated from the water body and adversely affected the overall aesthetics. It was so different from what it used to be. This was the turning point when I decided to take things into my own hands and vowed to restore it. I worked on this notion, convincing my family and fellow villagers to allow me to do that and contribute to the cause. It took a lot of effort but perseverance paid and I was able to restore it. Gradually, this small effort transformed into a mission and I quit my job and dedicated myself to the cause of pond restoration.
Jal Chaupal Beginnings:
As a concept, Jal chaupal was already a time-tested technique that was used by water conservation practitioners to sensitize the masses, especially those who belonged to rural hinterlands. We too modified it as per on-field requirements. It is essentially an interactive platform where all stakeholders/ villagers are made aware of the critical need for water conservation and are cajoled to contribute to the same. It is more than mere awareness generation sessions. We believe that as ponds are common assets, they are the responsibility of one and all and if we have an aware community, they can restore and maintain their waterbody without any sustained outside support. Besides, these Jal chaupals also help in getting insights about the real-time issues that threaten ponds which helps us in designing solutions. Also, this platform contributes towards the creation of an emotional connection between the pond and villagers.
Challenges Faced:
A number of challenges were faced while pursuing water conservation activities in Gautam Buddha Nagar but the biggest ones relate to convincing of communities to allow us to conserve their ponds, especially during our initial days. People were skeptical about our motives and were majorly unsympathetic towards our efforts. There was also a sense of apprehension amongst the masses regarding our intentions and what we would gain out of the rejuvenation of their ponds as we didn’t belong to the village. The acrimony amongst different sections of villagers added to our problems and made arriving at a consensus extremely difficult. I remember an incident from our initial days, we had just concluded a jal chaupal in a village and were prepared to leave when suddenly a crowd gathered and started pelting stones at our vehicles. We had to call the police to save ourselves that day. But gradually, we too learned from our mistakes and today the community is our biggest strength.
Training and influence:
I received 3 months of training under a program named “Green Skill Development” initiated by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. This program helped in a deeper understanding of environmental issues faced by the nation and their larger impact and repercussions for the people and society as a whole. Generally, very little about these issues meets the eye which actually is just the tip of the iceberg. The actual picture is much different or much worse, if I may put it that way. The training helped me enhance my sensitivity towards environmental concerns and trained me in technical ways of mitigating their adverse impact. Now I strive hard to make others aware of the criticality of environmental problems and apply innovative solutions in a participatory manner to address them. I think my attitude and approach towards the cause are due to my training.
Say Earth Ngo’s mission:
The mission of Say Earth NGO is ………. As a founder, it’s my foremost duty to make this mission a reality. I think Its high time when we start to fix our focus on conserving fresh water for our future generations and India is still at a stage where we can utilize our ancient knowledge to achieve our goals. Ponds represent an ancient water conservation technique of our ancestors. I’m just utilizing their wisdom and restoring what we lost in the name of development and restoring these waterbodies that are present in almost every rural and semi-urban area of the country. This will help in augmentation of groundwater and will also help in mitigating droughts. Besides, Say Earth is also committed to enhancing green cover, especially by transformation of wastelands, such as landfill sites. As much of the area in urban landscape has been utilized for developing built infrastructure, there is a scarcity of trees that play a pivotal role in maintaining natural balance. There are enough buildings to inhabit humans but very less tress for providing habitat to other species. To restore some of the natural state of the urban landscape, we believe that those areas that left as wastelands must be covered with trees to provide a breathing space to both nature and inhabitants and therefore are transforming such sites into urban forests. They would not just support biodiversity but would also help in providing much needed solace to the residents living in high rise by providing oxygen and supporting mental health. Besides, this would also contribute towards carbon sequestration and mitigation of urban heat island effect.
Recognition and Influence:
I must admit that being praised by the honorable Prime Minister and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh did have a positive impact on my work and visibility. People now recognize me and since then I have been invited to numerous environment-based lectures, conferences, and talks. Even corporate bodies, media, and government agencies took notice and since then my workload has also increased. But my biggest motivation is common people who have since then approached me to restore ponds in their villages or wanted to volunteer with Say Earth and contribute to the cause. It acted as a kind of stimulus. I was not expecting this kind of impact. Even National and International media houses took notice of my work and published about it. I would remain indebted to Shri. Narendra Modi ji and Yogi Aditynath Ji for supporting our endeavors and acting as a source of inspiration for us.
Role as Brand Ambassador:
Brand Ambassador’s role is never an easy one! We have to live up to that image. I’m the brand ambassador of the Swachh Bharat Mission for the Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh. My role revolves around sensitizing people about cleanliness-related issues and striving to bring about a change in their behavior towards the environment as a whole. I do this by engaging with young schoolchildren, college students, and members of the public. I participate in awareness generation events organized by both government and private entities and try my best to convey the message in as convincing a manner as possible. I also ensure spreading awareness about adopting a sustainable lifestyle from various platforms that I’m invited to.
Besides, I participate regularly in planning and strategy meetings that are convened by district authorities for the implementation of related state or central government schemes and try my best to give valuable suggestions. In a nutshell, this is what I’m doing as a brand ambassador.
BhuJal-Sena Initiative:
This program christened Groundwater Force was mooted as a sub-component of the Uttar Pradesh government’s state groundwater conservation mission in 2017 to check the depletion of groundwater in 22 water-stressed cities of the state. It is tasked with sensitization of masses about the needs and ways of judicious use of groundwater. I got an opportunity to do my bit when I was appointed as coordinator for Ghaziabad district. I have to play an active part in the successful implementation and monitoring of awareness-generation activities that are planned under the program for the Ghaziabad district. As a coordinator, I’m also responsible for mooting innovative techniques for motivating the city crowd to use groundwater responsibly. Besides, I’m also entrusted with the task of taking the lead in awareness generation campaigns that are planned for the city. We are aiming at a change in the attitude of people towards their groundwater resources by making them more aware and conscious. This would ultimately support less exploitative abstraction of groundwater, helping in its recharge and augmentation.