Vijay Kedia

'Where there is a will there is a way', goes a popular saying, which perfectly applies to Vijay Kedia, an Aurangabad-based mechanical engineer/builder. While working on his family farm, his improved his understanding of water and its various facets. Further, the knowledge of raditional rainwater harvesting systems of Rajasthan encouraged him to innovatively modify the existing techniques to suit the local context. The Dewas roof water filter, Kedia-farm pattern bandhara (an earthen dam, commonly found in Maharashtra) and a rain gauge are the result of eight years of exploration. The potential of these low cost structures in eradicating ecological and economic poverty has been widely acknowledged.

A Kedia bandhara costs only Rs 5,000 and can capture 70 - 80 per cent of the monsoon runoff, while keeping the soil moist for next five to six months. It is constructed by digging a two feet wide and eight to ten feet deep trench before the bandhara, and refilling it with soil after vertically lining it with a PVC sheet. The trench acts as a vertical aquifer. The PVC sheet stops the water from percolating outside. In his farm, following the seventh century model at Ghadasisar in Jaisalmer, the bhandaras are constructed in a series - thus, preventing the runoff going waste. The wells are constructed in the bottom of the bhandara - ensuring a sustained availability of water.

These days he is actively spreading the knowledge around with one message - "Sai jitna dee jiye, wame kutumb samaye" (the rain god is giving us enough water, it has to be managed intelligently), which Kedia believes can sustainably solve the water scarcity.

He has also designed a simple rain gauge, which costs only Rs 2, with a two-litre plastic bottle.

For details:
72, Pannalal Nagar
Aurangabad 431 005
Maharashtra
Tel: 0240-2337974 / 2339934