Rotarians from Pune Central restore ancient dams
When a group of Rotarians led by their Rotary Club of Pune Central (RID 3131) president Brig (retd) P K M Raja took the three-hour long 130km trip to Satara recently to see the outcome of the hard work they had put in to do major repairs to an ancient dam which had sustained major structural damages over seven decades, and saw a flock of birds seated on the embankment of the water body holding the copious, shimmering water, they were left gasping in delight.
This was in Feb 2025. The ancient dam, once a crucial water source for irrigation, drinking water and livestock, had developed severe cracks and other structural damages over time, leading to water seepage and terribly reduced storage capacity. When the dam’s sorry state was brought to the Rotarians’ notice by some local good Samaritans, they found that due to a previous poor monsoon, the dam had dried up completely. The result was that women in the 5km radius, where about 15,000 people live and depend on this water body improving the water table in the entire region, had to trek a distance of 2–3km just to fetch a pot or bucket of water for household use.
The club members, who had already done a small project to repair and restore a small dam in the area in 2022, felt they should take up the much bigger challenge of restoring and rejuvenating the much bigger Rajapur dam.
The joy in the voice was echoed by everybody present. Even more surprising was the fact that even though it has not rained for over a month, water was still flowing in the waste weir.
— Cmde Ajay Chitnis, IPP, RC Pune Central
Explaining the background of what soon became a flagship project for their club, its IPP Commodore (retd)Ajay Chitnis says this dam, built in the 1940s, was meant to provide storage for the villages around the area. “But due to almost no monsoon rains in 2023 and a very lean monsoon in 2022, the storage area of this dam had dried up completely.”
Earlier, a past president and major donor of the club Giri Sakhrani had met a local engineer-turned-businessman-turned philanthropist Padmakar Bhide, who has passionately dedicated his life to improving the water availability in this group of hamlets in Satara district of Maharashtra. He explained to him how due to major cracks and poor monsoon rain over the previous three years this dam had run dry, bringing misery to the lives of the people who depend on it as their water source. The local panchayat president Hanumant Dhandk also explained to the Rotarians that in the face of such severe water shortage, they had no other option than to buy water through private tankers at a substantial cost, or wait for the undependable and scarce government water tankers.
A core group from the club decided to take up the repair and restoration work, and urged the Rotarians of this 117-member-strong club, one of the biggest in RID 3131, to donate for this crucial community welfare project. The work on the dam began last February with a traditional pooja performed by Rotary Ann Dipti Chitnis and PP Sakhrani, and was attended by almost the entire population of Rajapur village, where this dam is located.
Giving a background of the water bodies network in this region of Maharashtra, the ex-commodore explains that Satara district broadly has two parts; the western half comprising the Western Ghats, and home to Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani hill stations which are blessed with copious rainfall during the SW monsoon. But the Eastern half comprising plains and low undulating hills falls in a rainshadow area that receives rainfall only during the withdrawal of the SW monsoon.
To cater to the water requirements of the people in this region, he says, around 180 earthen dams were built in the first half of the 20th century. “Over the years these dams have developed severe leaks, and the water stored in these bodies lasts only till about Nov-Dec,” after which the people are left high and dry. The government has attempted repairs of these dams, but as is typical of all such projects, a lot of money is spent on achieving very little,” he says wryly.
That is when private citizens like Bhide, affectionately called Bandu Bhide by the locals, got involved and also brought in Rotarians for a more effective partnership to bring water, and much needed relief to the local women, to this area.
Another passionate member of the core team of this project, past president Uday Dharmadhikari, says that for two years beginning 2023, the club raised the required funds for the repair and restoration work of the Rajapur dam, totalling around ₹12 lakh. The anchor donor was Sakhrani, and others included PP Ajay Dubey, Rakesh Makhija, Shireesh Nadkar and Nitin Rajore.
Asked why the club, well-known for its mega projects with CSR partners and GGs, did not go for CSR funds, he said, “When we go to companies for their CSR funds, they first want to see the concrete work that has already been done, before they part with their money. For projects related to the environment like planting trees, or water conservation projects, it is difficult to show them in concrete terms what component of the work will be done with their money. That is why we thought for this first major dam restoration we will raise our own money, but yes, now that we have this successful project to show a potential CSR partner, we will certainly seek CSR funds and do bigger and bolder water projects in this area.”
He adds that in the last couple of years his club has done, along with CSR grants, GGs and money raised by club members, projects worth nearly ₹11 crore. This year too, the community service work done by RC Pune Central “will be touching about ₹7 crore.”
Coming to the actual work involved in such cases, Cmde Chitnis explains that the repairs involve digging a 10-feet wide trench at the base of the dam wall. “The trench is dug till hard rock is hit. The dam face covered with wild bushes and some trees is cleaned, the source of the leakage is identified, and cemented. Thereafter, thick plastic sheets are laid in the trench and on the dam face, and the trench is refilled with the excavated mud and silt. Once this is completed, we wait for the rains!”
This year, he adds, the region was blessed with early and copious rains. As soon as the rains started, the desilting work was stopped, and the water started filling up. By September, the reservoir had filled up and water started overflowing from the waste weir, located at the western edge of the dam. In November, a group of them, led by club president Brig Raja visited the site, to see for themselves the fruits of their labour.
The Rotarians were greeted by a beaming village sarpanch Dhandk, the headmaster of the local school and a bunch of villagers at the dam. “Along with them we walked over the length of the dam and a very happy sarpanch told us that the drinking water problems of the village were finally over. They no longer had to get water by tankers to fill the community well, and make it available to the villagers.”
This project involved strengthening the dam embankment, desilting the reservoir, reinforcing spillways, and implementing soil erosion control measures. This has not only enhanced water retention but also ensured long-term resilience against climatic variations, adds Cmde Chitnis.
Now, with the dam brimming with water (this was last November), the community well filled up, and clean drinking water was available to all the houses in the village. Also, some houses with wells that had been dry for years, had finally seen water, and some of them were even overflowing. “The joy in his voice was echoed by everybody present. Even more surprising was the fact that even though it has not rained for over a month, water was still flowing in the waste weir. Bandu Bhide explained to us that this was because the water table in the entire area had gone up. Not only was water percolating into the dam, wells in villages within a 5km radius had also benefitted from this project.”
Dharmadhikari added that meant about 15,000 people had benefited from this project. “This success story will not only inspire greater contribution from members in the forthcoming years, but will also help us get CSR funds, so that we can increase the scope of this project and repair and restore more dams. “
He adds that to create a feeling of belonging for the villagers, and give them a sense of ownership, the Rotarians had encouraged the locals to contribute whatever little they could in terms of money. Of course they were involved in giving labour for the repair work. “The biggest advantage was that because the villagers participated, the happiness index has really gone up, with women being happier than the men, as it has saved them a trek of 2–3km to fetch water.”
The impact of this project has been transformative. With some time on their hands to spare, the women have been organised into self-help groups and some informal training has been imparted to them for tailoring, poultry farming, and other vocations so that they can get a modest income. The availability of clean water has also reduced water-borne diseases and improved attendance at schools in the area, he adds. The general health of the women has also improved.
“In February we found migratory birds at the dam, and even last week when we checked, we were told that there was sufficient water in the Rajapur dam. I’d say that the improved groundwater table has also helped farmers, who don’t have major crop patterns as this area is a rainshadow region. But whatever vegetables and other products they grow are getting a higher yield thanks to better availability of water.”
He adds that hopefully migration of youngsters — some of them had left earlier to become dabbawallahs in Mumbai — will stop. Next on the club’s horizon is improving conditions in government schools in this region.
