Naam Foundation has resumed water conservation work in drought-affected areas of Pune district following the death of its founder and chairman, actor Nana Patekar, with the organisation beginning desilting and repair work on check dams in Daund taluka.
The work has started at Pargaon and Nagargaon in the riverbed areas of Daund, according to a report by Pudhari. The foundation has deployed two JCB machines, three trucks and 10 workers for the intervention. The Irrigation Department has provided stones required for the repair work.
Nilesh Jawalkar, the foundation’s coordinator and former sarpanch of Khanapur in Haveli taluka, said the organisation had begun the work to continue Patekar’s focus on supporting farmers, labourers and disadvantaged communities. He said Patekar regularly maintained that the foundation’s work should not stop and that supporting distressed farmers and workers was a duty.
The report said the deepening and repair of the check dams could help improve water availability for hundreds of acres of farmland in and around Daund, as well as in Shirur taluka, during drought conditions. The work is intended to increase the capacity of existing local water-harvesting structures rather than create a new large-scale irrigation project.
The intervention comes after Patekar’s death last week. His last rites were held at his farm in Donje, near the foothills of Sinhagad. The foundation has said that its ongoing work will continue despite the loss of its founder.
According to the report, Naam Foundation is also planning water-conservation activities in drought-affected talukas across Maharashtra. The proposed work includes cleaning and restoring dams, check dams, lakes, streams and drainage channels, along with measures to hold back rainwater.
The planning is being carried out under the supervision of the foundation’s other founder, actor Makarand Anaspure, and secretary Ganesh Thorat. The foundation has identified areas including Khadakwasla, Sinhagad and Panshet, besides drought-affected talukas elsewhere in the state, for future interventions.
The latest work highlights the role of small water-retention structures in areas where agricultural water availability depends on the storage and recharge capacity of local rivers, streams and check dams. The next steps will depend on the foundation’s planned expansion of cleaning, deepening, repair and water-retention works across the identified drought-affected areas.
