Union Minister Paatil Hosts Water Warriors from Across India at His Residence

Union Minister of Jal Shakti C. R. Paatil today interacted with Water Conservation Warriors and River Rejuvenation Warriors from different parts of the country who have been leading grassroots initiatives in water conservation, river and water-body rejuvenation and environmental protection.

Addressing the participants, Shri. Paatil congratulated them for their commitment and said that listening directly to their experiences was an opportunity to understand the scale, diversity and impact of grassroots action taking place across the country.

Among those who shared their work was Ramveer Tanwar, popularly known as the ‘Pondman of India’, who spoke about rejuvenating more than 100 ponds and establishing 10 mini urban forests. Kamini Kumari from Bihar highlighted her initiative in mobilising 500 women to construct 500 groundwater recharge pits along the Baya River in a single day, linking water conservation with groundwater recharge, sustainable agriculture and livelihood opportunities for women.

Surendra Singh Chaudhary, popularly known as ‘Bittu Tabahi’, shared his journey of taking up the clean-up of the polluted Ajnar River at Biaora in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh. A young B.Sc. student, he began the effort on 26 January 2026 and undertook hands-on removal of plastic, weeds, sludge and other waste from the river, largely through his own initiative.

Anand Malligavad from Bengaluru spoke about his work in restoring 33 lakes and planting more than one lakh native trees. Jagdish Singh Negi from Uttarakhand shared his work in water conservation, forest restoration and converting plastic waste into eco-bricks. Subham Kumar highlighted the role of youth and volunteers in river cleanliness and his efforts to mobilise communities to remove more than 2.47 lakh kilograms of waste from the banks of the Ganga and its tributaries.

Akash Yadav from Uttar Pradesh shared how his 15-member volunteer group has contributed to the rejuvenation of four Ganga ghats and the removal of more than one tonne of plastic waste. Dr. Sanjivini Sharma from Kanpur spoke about mobilising more than 900 volunteers for Ganga conservation campaigns and removing over 120 metric tonnes of waste, besides promoting plastic recycling, reuse of discarded materials and livelihood opportunities for women through community-led waste management.

The other water warriors included Ms. Kusum Gildiyal, Jagdish Negi, Ms. Rama Tiwari, Dr. Suman Pandey, Ms. Kumari Sunita Singh, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Ajay Kumar Tivare, Sh. Nitish Kumar Singh, Kamlesh Bhai Shastri, Sandeep Chaudhary, Ms. Sirkunwar, Ms. Phoolbati and Vivek Bhat. The work of these warriors were highly appreciated by Hon’ble Minister Jal Shakti.

Addressing the gathering, Smt. Archana Verma, Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, appreciated the role played by the Water Warriors in taking the message of water conservation and cleanliness beyond government programmes and into communities. .(updated on 1st October 2026)