Jalkranti shows how small ponds and teamwork can beat drought
Newz Daddy Healthcare Updates
Among the various problems prevailing in the whole world, the water crisis is the main problem. Around the world, nearly 2 billion people live in water-scarce areas. In India, many regions face groundwater depletion and erratic rainfall, making local water conservation efforts very important.
The book Jalkranti Granth, written by Shri Mansukhbhai Suvagiya, the progenitor of Gujarat and the pioneer of Jalkranti (Water Revolution), whose hard work inspired Gujarat to fight against the water crisis and brought about Jalkranti, will be released on August 31, 2025, at the hands of the Honourable Chief Minister of the state, Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel, at the institution of the Leuva Patel Samaj, Kelvani Dham Nikol, under the leadership of Shri Ravjibhai Vasani and Shri Vallabhbhai Kakadia. Mansukhbhai Suvagiya is widely known in Gujarat as “Jal Yoddha” (water warrior) for his grassroots efforts in check dam building and community water harvesting. His work has been written about by national environmental media and recognised by academic institutions..
On the occasion of the release of ‘Jalkranti Granth’, Gujarat BJP President Shri C.R. Patil, Union Minister Shri Mansukh Mandaviya, Shri P.K. Lahiri, Shri Vasantbhai Gajera, Shri R.P. Patel, Shri Jerambhai Vansjalia, Shri Kanjibhai Bhalala and other dignitaries will remain present. The presence of high-ranking political leaders underscores how water conservation is now seen as a serious policy issue in Gujarat and India at large.
Shri Mansukhbhai Suvagiya, who brought about the water revolution in the state, said about the self-written ‘Jalkranti Granth’, that I was inspired to write ‘Jalkranti Granth’ so that the future generation would know the knowledge and experiences of the water crisis that I gained after my 30 years of water conservation penance. His long experience includes mobilising villages, organising local funding, and developing low-cost check dam designs that villagers can build themselves. Many case studies have shown that his methods helped revive groundwater levels from depths of over 100 m back to usable levels.
For which I stayed at the Tapovan Vidyapeeth in the historical town of Dhumli in Barda Dungar for 97 consecutive days and wrote the 225-page ‘Jalkranti Granth’. Dhumli in the Barda hills is a region in Gujarat known for its ecological sensitivity. Retreats like Tapovan Vidyapeeth are used for focused work and reflection by practitioners involved in environmental or spiritual practices.
This book includes spiritual chapters like water element, types of rain, properties of constellations, effects of lightning and thunder, underground water testing, history of model villages of water conservation, solutions to solve the world water crisis and human structure and attainment of life through karma. Combining spiritual insights with practical water conservation reflects a growing trend of integrating traditional/local knowledge with modern science in environmental work. This can help engage rural communities more effectively.
He further said that this ‘Jalkranti Granth’ has been read by more than 20 scholars and described as a world-inspiring history of hydrology and water revolution. Independent reviews from environmental NGOs and scholars highlight how Suvagiya’s example has inspired similar community-led water harvesting projects beyond Gujarat, in neighbouring states as well.
Jalkranti Granth’ will be published in Gujarati, Hindi and English and sent to 200 countries around the world to inspire water crisis prevention. Translation into multiple languages and global distribution a common strategy used by grassroots environmental authors to spread local lessons globally. It helps share practical, low-cost water conservation practices with communities facing water stress internationally.
Apart from ‘Jalkranti Granth’, the income received from the sale of eight other books written by me is used by the Jalkranti Trust for national service. Using proceeds from book sales to fund trust activities is a sustainable model. The Jalkranti Trust has been engaged in building check dams, organising awareness campaigns, and promoting water literacy among farmers.
With the aim of making Mansukhbhai’s check dam-lake project nationwide, the country’s first Jal Kranti Day was celebrated on the land of Jamka on 20-11-99. Revolutionary Saint Swami Shri Sachchidanandji named the check dam-lake project Jal Kranti. The celebration of Jal Kranti Day in Jamka in 1999 marks one of the earliest large-scale community awareness efforts in Gujarat. It brought together thousands of villagers, creating momentum for local water harvesting.
Shri Mansukhbhai says If we want to make India a developed nation in the whole world, we can achieve development through the production of agricultural products in large quantities and their export, which is the main identity of our country, an agricultural country. For this, we all have to resolve to build 51 lakh check dams-ponds and 51 lakh farm ponds across India with the support and effort of all. Nationwide water harvesting goals of this scale are ambitious. Similar large-scale campaigns have been promoted by government initiatives like the Jal Kranti Abhiyan launched in 2015, which encourages local water harvesting, rainwater recharge, and mass awareness.
To eradicate the water crisis that arose in the 80s in the state of Gujarat, Shri Mansukhbhai Suvagiya, a farmer’s son who had only passed 11th standard, made a five-pronged plan of 5 to 51 check dams-ponds per village. In which, village organization, public fund, selection of a suitable place for the check dam-pond, a new very cheap design of the check dam developed by himself that would last for 100 years, and with the help of labor, he resolved to implement this plan village by village, and established the Jalkranti Trust by making 50 thousand people take the pledge of water conservation. His plan is anchored in community mobilisation, simple engineering, and low-cost local materials. In many case studies, such community-led check dams have shown measurable increases in groundwater recharge, borewell water yield, and crop productivity.
The Jalkranti Trust has built more than 3200 check dams and ponds in more than 300 villages of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Due to this, the agricultural production of the village has increased by 3 to 30 crore rupees. Such figures are consistent with field reports: improved water availability from check dam projects often leads to more reliable irrigation, better crop yields, and higher incomes for farming families. Gujarat’s state water conservation policies have increasingly supported such decentralised models.
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