In what has proved to be a novel way of fighting the drought that has plagued several villages of western Maharashtra, a competition was organised in Mumbai to create solidarity among the affected peo
In what has proved to be a novel way of fighting the drought that has plagued several villages of western Maharashtra, a competition was organised in Mumbai to create solidarity among the affected people and to create awareness regarding water conservation. The competition, organised by actor Aamir Khan’s Paani Foundation, concluded in Mumbai with the Satyameva Jayate Water Cup Award 2016, on the occasion of Independence Day. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was the chief guest for the occasion, and Mr Khan and Kiran Rao, the co-founder of Paani, were also present.
The competition had 116 villages from three talukas of western Maharashtra contesting in it, and programmes were conducted on the development of watersheds in the drought-prone areas of the state.
The first prize was awarded to Velu village, located in Koregaon taluka, which recorded the highest amount of water storage. The award involved Rs 50 lakh as prize money. The second prize, worth Rs 30 lakh, was awarded to Khapartone village from Ambejogai taluka and to Jaigaon village from Koregaon taluka. The remaining four of the top villages — Anpatwadi from Koregaon, Patota and Kumbefal from Ambejogai and Gavankund from Warud — did not win awards, but were given prizes of Rs 5 lakh each to enable them to undertake watershed development.
The competition was preceded by a four-day-long residential training camp. The villages wishing to compete in it were required to send five villagers to the training programme, of whom two had to be women. The training camp witnessed a massive response, with over 800 participants.
