Art of Living “River Rejuvenation Initiative” for Jalna, Maharashtra

The Art of Living helps rejuvenate Soyanjana river in Jalna, Maharashtra

• Villages of Jalna district were facing an acute scarcity of water
• Dead river flowing with water again
• The river finally has 25 crore litres of water today
• 22 rivers are being rejuvenated across Maharashtra under the Jal jagruti Abhiyan
• 565 villages and over 7 Lakh people have benefitted from The Art of Living’s pan India river rejuvenation projects

For last four years the villages of Jalna district were facing an acute scarcity of water. The farmers were not able to even eke out a living because the river was completely dead. Spearheaded by the Art of Living and aided by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Soyanjana village more than 25,000 cubic meters of silt was dredged by the villagers and The Art of Living volunteers. After months of desilting, deepening and widening of water bodies and repairing and constructing check dams, the river finally has 25 crore litres of water today. Not only Soyanjana but Shingona, Anandwadi and Partur, villages within the ambit of its catchment area, have also benefitted from the revival. The nutrients deposited by river-borne sediments have also increased soil fertility in these regions.

Farming is a lucrative business once again and farmers are a happy and satisfied lot. Village youth now aspire to become entrepreneurs by creating their own natural farming models and hope to inspire many more to take this trend forward. The river projects are not just rejuvenating a water source but giving life back to the villagers and also inspiring them to work for a better society.

Today, 22 rivers are being rejuvenated across Maharashtra under the Jal jagruti Abhiyan (Water Awareness Program) which began in 2013, when a meeting was held between the Sarpanch, Gram Sevaks and members of the Gram Panchayat of Marathwada and Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at Bangalore Ashram to address the issue of water scarcity.

De-silting and river rejuvenation work is on in 30 rivers across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu & Kerala. Till date, 565 villages and over 7 Lakh people have benefitted from The Art of Living’s pan India river rejuvenation projects. 28,000+ employment opportunities have been created through Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

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