This Noida Engineer Left His Job To Revive India's Dying Ponds And Urban Forests

The depletion of the water table is a considerable problem that cities across India are facing, and it will only get worse in the years to come.

One of the reasons for this is how the traditional water bodies including ponds and wetlands that act as vital links to recharge the water table are disappearing at an alarming pace.

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Indian cities are running out of groundwater

Karnataka's capital Bengaluru is the first Indian city to run out of groundwater. Other Indian cities are also not far behind.

In Delhi NCR, most of the Greater Noida area is in the ¡®critical¡¯ zone for groundwater levels. A recent report of the UP groundwater department revealed that the water table has depleted by nearly 6.09 metres between 2016 and 2020, sliding from 6.66 metres in 2016 to 12.75 metres in 2020.

Given the dire situation, it is crucial that the existing water bodies are saved, and those lost due to construction and other activities are revived.

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That is what Ramveer Tanwar, a native of Greater Noida, is trying to do at his level.

Ramveer Tanwar - the engineer saving ponds

Popularly known as 'Pondman of India' Tanwar, an engineer by qualification has been on a mission to revive the water bodies in Greater Noida and across India.

Tanwar, born in Dadha village in Greater Noida, grew up in an agricultural family.

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The youngest of five siblings, Tanwar was the first person in his family to attend college.

He graduated as a Mechanical Engineer in 2014 and soon started working at a private company.

As someone who grew up on the farms, Tanwar always had a special affection for the village and the water bodies there, which he saw slowly dying in front of his eyes.

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Even as a student and after he started working Tanwar used to volunteer in efforts to clean up ponds and other water bodies in the village.

But in 2016, to the shock of his family, Tanwar quit his job to become a full-time conservationist.

"They were shocked when I told them I was leaving my job to revive ponds. They were disappointed with my decision for nearly a year. But I promised them that if I failed in what I was setting out to do, I would go back to a regular job, which thankfully didn't have to," Tanwar told Indiatimes.

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The 30-year-old who started by restoring ponds and wetlands in and around his village has since revived water bodies across UP, MP, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana and Karnataka.

Every pond needs a different treatment

According to him, the restoration process of each water body may need a different approach depending on its condition.

"Some waterbodies could be filled with garbage, others may be covered in aquatic weed, some might have a huge silt deposit, others may have gone dry. So they all need different techniques to restore them. If the pond is filled with garbage or silt, that has to be removed manually or with machines. If the water is coming from somewhere else, it has to be filtered before it enters the pond. The restored ponds are also protected with fencing and a treeline to ensure that they become a self-sustained eco-system," Tanwar explained.

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All the restorations are done by a group of 10-12 people, including those working with Tanwar full-time, part-time, and some interns. Some locals also join as volunteers during the restoration work.

Why the participation of locals is important

Depending on the difficulty of the restoration process could take anywhere between a few weeks to six months. The team will continue to take care of the pond for nearly two years before it is handed over to the local bodies or other relevant authorities.

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"Whenever we go to a village to restore a pond, we will hold an awareness meeting with the villagers to tell them why we must do this and explain the benefits of restoring it. We also make them stakeholders in the entire process by accepting contributions from them, be it physical or in cash, so that they also feel that it is their own," Tanwar said.

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Rejuvenating an ecosystem, not just a pond

It is not just the water body that is revived, but the entire ecosystem, including trees, aquatic plants, and creatures. Such waterbodies also regularly attract large flocks of migratory birds during the season.

According to Tanwar, it is not possible to measure the success of pond restoration based on the amount of water collected there.

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"Restoring wetlands and ponds will help recharge the water table falling across India. But that doesn't necessarily have to be on the exact spot of a particular waterbody. All these water bodies are interconnected below the surface, and restoring them will have a positive impact on the water table," he said.

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Ponds and urban forests

Besides reviving ponds and wetlands, Tanwar is also involved in restoring urban forests.

"We use the Miyawaki technique to grow these urban forests because the planted saplings will grow into trees in two years when it takes ten years for the same if done the traditional way. There is a 90% success rate in Miyawaki technique, which makes it perfect for urban conditions," he said.

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