What hurts more – Plastic bags replacing lotus flowers or water that sustained agriculture covered with forms of industrial waste?
It might be difficult to choose because both of these situations are upsetting in one way or the other. This is exactly what had been happening in many villages across India. Ponds that once supported life were breeding waste and turning into dumping grounds. The beauty of these water bodies was slowly fading away, and this is what triggered a boy whose name soon became synonymous with the revival of ponds in India.
Ramveer Tanwar changed the destiny of ponds in India with his consistent water conservation efforts and secured their environmental future.
An extraordinary journey of pond man of India
Growing up in a village in Uttar Pradesh named Dadha, Ramveer Tanwar understood something at a tender age that most people failed to understand as full grown adults – ponds are not just water reserves, but the heartbeat of rural life. He recognised and realised that ponds in India are not just beautiful geographical elements. He acknowledges that they store rainwater, recharge, groundwater, support agricultural life, and preserve biodiversity, and thus it is extremely important that they do not fade away with time.
But with growing urbanisation, encroachment, and carelessness, ponds have moved towards extinction. The water is turning pale and grey in colour. Due to all the waste that is discharged into it, the sounds of birds chopping nearby are turning into rising fumes of ill smell, the diverse water species that once found their homes in the ponds are slowly dying, and these ponds no longer are the beautiful geographical element in rural areas. This destruction pained him deeply and inspired him to take the responsibility of these water bodies.
The life and education of Ramveer Tanwar
A resident of a small village in Uttar Pradesh, Ramveer Tanwar was an extremely ambitious young student. He pursued engineering and earned a degree in mechanical stream through which he stepped into the world of corporate. This offered him stability and financial security, but somehow it never fulfilled his longing for his home that was slowly losing its life and soul. When he reached his home, all he could see was a childhood memory, disappearing, and dying slowly. For him, the ponds of his village were no longer water bodies, but muddy waste land and all he could think about was broken ecosystems and forgotten heritage. Thus, he decided to leave his job in 2015 and dedicate his life to water conservation in India.
The revival of muddy wastelands
Ramveer Tanwar had dedication and an inspiration, and that was all that was required for him to get started on his mission to revive the ponds in India. Collaborated with a few supportive villagers in his village and began cleaning the ponds himself. He removed the garbage, distilled the water, strengthened the embankments, and planted trees all around it.
While he was putting all of these efforts, many people doubted him, and some even mocked him. There were a few people who told him that his efforts were pointless because nothing is going to change. But all discouragement did not stop him. He continued on his commitment to the ponds and the reality was the biggest encouragement that he could have ever received. The water started turning blue from the muddy dirt, birds returned back, the ponds stopped, smelling, and the plastic bags diminished from the surface making space for vegetation. And this is how everybody started believing in his cause.
From a local effort into a national movement
What Ramveer Tanwar did in his own village out of his longing for childhood environment, turned into a campaign about water conservation in India, which independently focused on the ponds. He started from a small village in Uttar Pradesh and with one pond. But soon, this turned into a national movement where he restored more than 80 ponds in India across various states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh. At every pond that he restored, there were improvements in groundwater levels, farmers were better supported, biodiversity was revived, and communities were brought together.
A difficult journey, but a successful one
It was not as easy to revive the ponds as it might sound. From harmful chemical waste to snake infestations, the ponds were nothing but filthy. From water infections to skin allergies, there were many issues that were hanging over his head while he was on his expedition to revive the ponds in India. But, every move and every difficulty that he faced throughout his journey, always resulted in extremely extraordinary results. The ponds were living again, like they did in his childhood. All of these efforts earned the title “Pond Man of India”.
Say Earth and Jal Chaupal
Ramveer Tanwar as the pond man of India founded the NGO Say Earth in 2018. The main focus of this NGO was water conservation in India, restoring water bodies, developing urban forest, and spreading environmental awareness. Through this platform, the impact of his initiative was extended beyond just physical restoration to community engagement. He educated everyone how to sustain the clean ponds. All he wanted to do was make people stakeholders in their own environmental future.
Under the NGO Say Earth, he launched one of the most powerful initiatives in the history of water conservation in India – Jal Chaupal. The main aim of the campaign was community dialogue that focused simply on water. He gathered villagers, discussed local water issues, and collectively decided how to protect and maintain the ponds. His approach was for long-term sustainability because one activist cannot change the world, but an entire community can. And soon, Jal Chaupal turned into a model for grass roots protection, and restoration of ponds in India.
Recognition and an exceptional inspiration
From being known as the Pondman of India to International recognition, Ramveer Tanwar is appreciated for his efforts on water conservation in India widely. He has received multiple national and international owners, including the shining world protection award, and the wetland champions award from India’s ministry of environment. Despite such appreciation, he still remains rooted in his village life and intent to sustain the life of ponds in India.
The story of Ramveer Tanwar and restoring ponds is not just about the environment. It is also about the fact that individual action matters and what changes a responsible citizen can make to the society. He consistently inspires everyone to take up whatever they firmly believe in. Today, as the pond man of India, he continues his mission by going from pond to pond and village to village, building a legacy that will change the way the future generations see life on this planet.
