Nana Patekar’s legacy beyond films: How his water project made a drought-hit Marathwada village tanker-free

CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: As film lovers across India mourned the death of veteran actor Nana Patekar on Thursday, a village in central Maharashtra remembered how his support helped it become "tanker-free" by funding a water conservation project a decade ago.Patekar, 76, passed away at his Goa residence in the early hours of Thursday, news agency PTI reported.NAAM Foundation, set up by Patekar and fellow Marathi actor Makarand Anaspure, adopted Dhondalgaon village in Vaijapur tehsil in 2016.The village, located 57km from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city, would require water supplied through tankers every year as the monsoon ended and Diwali approached, river expert Anand Asolkar said.During the Nizam era, Dhondalgaon was known for its sweet limes, which were transported to other parts of the country from the nearby Karanjgaon railway station.However, silt-filled barrages on the local river made it difficult to cultivate sweet lime trees or grow more than one crop a year, PTI reported."After establishing the NAAM Foundation, Makarand Anaspure and Nana Patekar were in search of a village where a water conservation project could be undertaken. I told them about Dhondalgaon. They came here on October 2, 2015, and inaugurated the work," Asolkar told PTI."There were 12 barrages and they were completely filled with silt, so no water stopped there. The villagers also contributed to the work and we desilted a stretch of 4.5 km. It created storage capacity of nearly 20 crore litres of water," he said.The project changed the village's economy, Asolkar said."Almost 70% of farmers here now grow two crops in a year; some even grow three crops. The village has been tanker-free from 2016 to this day, except for a few months in 2018 when there was a severe drought," he said.Rahul Sable, a local activist, said the availability of water also boosted dairy farming, PTI reported.The village now produces up to 10,000 litres of milk every day, among the highest in the district, while the milk business provides employment to nearly 800 local youths."Nana adopted our village, and the way people looked at our village changed. Politicians began to give priority to the development of our village. I take pride in saying that not a single farmer suicide has taken place here since this work was completed," Sable said.Bharat Aware, the village sarpanch, said repeated droughts had led to a negative mindset among local people.However, the water conservation project led by NAAM Foundation changed everything.(With agency inputs)Stay updated with the latest Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar news. Download the TOI App.