Rain is the primary water source in the Latur district of Maharashtra. Drought had become common with the erratic nature of monsoons and overuse of groundwater. All water sources including local rivers and streams had dried, and groundwater had been exhausted. In many areas, farmers did not have water left for drinking, let alone for farming.

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Our project rejuvenates rivers and nallahs primarily through desilting activities, initiated in 2013.
As of Jan 2016, work on 22 rivers and nallahs in more than 150 villages spread across Jalgaon, Satara, Nagpur Jalna, Latur and Osmanabad districts was undertaken that involved desilting, building cement bunds and gabion structures.

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Working closely with the local community, we have been able to rejuvenate many of these rivers that have been dry for decades. As a result, hundreds of acres of dry abandoned farmlands have been reclaimed, forest and green cover has increased, soil erosion and rainwater runoff have been significantly restricted.

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Due to the dramatic increase in the groundwater level in the villages, the lives and incomes of more than 10,000 villagers has improved.

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The long-term impact that we achieved is a sense of ownership inculcated into the local community about their water resources through our rural youth leadership program. They now work proactively for water retention and take more responsibility for the issues they face.

Since 2013, Dr. Lingaraju Yale with 20 full time volunteers and many part-time volunteers have initiated work in rejuvenating the Kumudvathi river. 278 villages and city of Bengaluru pinned their hopes on its revival.

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Volunteers and villagers pooled resources, together de-silted the neglected Kalyani (step wells) in the villages. 10 recharge wells and boulder checks were constructed with the help of CSR funds from HAL. The positive impact of the activities is already visible in a few villages with up to 15 ft. of water standing in open and step wells even during summer.

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With sufficient rainfalls for at least three seasons after completion of work in the entire project area, river levels were higher.
So far, we have:
· Built 436 boulder checks
· De-silted more than 20 traditional step wells
· Constructed 433 recharge wells and 71 water pools
· Constructed 44 recharge borewells
· Planted over 39,000 saplings
· Spread awareness to 66,504 people across 100 villages

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Our initiative which geared towards reviving the river has today turned into a revolution, with a potential to satisfy Bengaluru’s water needs, restore environmental balance within the belt, and unite families who left these villages.