Kalmane Kamegowda, a 72-year-old shepherd who lives in a nondescript village in southern India, has turn out to be a thing of a celebrity, winning national recognition from no much less than Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kamegowda, who in no way attended college, says he’s spent at least $14,000 from his and his son’s earnings, mostly via promoting sheep he tended more than the years, to dig a chain of 16 ponds on a picturesque hill close to his village, 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of Bengaluru, India’s Silicon Valley.
The ponds, constructed more than the course of 4 decades, are meant to address the trouble of water scarcity. Kamegowda — recognized as “Pond Man” — says they’re “scientific” in nature, with the water flowing on a slope, enabling the ponds to stay clear of drying up even in the scorching summer time months. Birds and wild animals such as bears, leopards, deer and foxes use the ponds to quench their thirst.
Kamegowda, who sports tidy black hair and a gray beard, was after dismissed as mad by other villagers. They mocked him for claiming that he had discovered from his father, also a shepherd, the art of identifying ground moisture and applying it to generate bodies of water.
He relied mainly on shovels, spades and pickaxes to generate the water bodies, and rented excavating machines when he could afford them to structure the ponds.
The Karnataka state government praised his work two years ago with a prestigious award. But the national recognition came earlier this year when Modi lauded his work on his well known radio broadcast, calling Kamegowda an “ordinary farmer” with “an extraordinary personality.”
“He has achieved a personal feat that will leave anyone awestruck,” the prime mister mentioned, adding that Kamegowda “has dug 16 ponds, through his hard work and the sweat of his brow.”
“It is possible that the ponds he has constructed may not be very big, but then his efforts are huge,” Modi mentioned. “Today, the entire area has got a new lease of life on account of these ponds.”
Social groups are now urging Modi to honour Kamegowda with a national award.
Kamegowda is satisfied to show journalists about, hobbling on a bandaged leg due to an ulcer wound that hasn’t healed for months. That restricts his normal visits to his ponds these days.
Four years ago, he saved some cash for his daughter-in-law, who was expecting to give birth with a caesarean section, but she delivered a infant boy typically, leaving him with some money on his hands.
“I spent the same money to dig another pond and named it Krishna — after my grandson,” he mentioned.
Kamegowda, who has dozens of sheep, lives in a two-space unfinished shed subsequent to his son’s property, and enjoys spending time with his loved ones. He keeps all of the documents and newspaper clippings reflecting his achievements.
He has a second nickname — “Vanapalaka,” or guardian of forests, earned via his planting of trees in an region close to the ponds designated by officials as a park.
“Most of the villagers are proud of me, but those who are jealous try hard to malign my image,” he mentioned. “I ask people not to pollute the ponds by washing clothes and restrict the use of water only for their livestock.”
“It’s nice to see villagers bring their livestock to these ponds to drink water, but it hurts when some try to defame me,” he mentioned.
He was referring to some villagers who, apparently jealous of the recognition he had received, submitted a petition to the regional administrator, complaining that Kamegowda was treating the pond region as his private estate even although it was government land.
However, the regional administrator, Deputy Commissioner M.V. Venkatesh, mentioned he visited the village and located that “there is a wrong perception” about Kamegowda’s work. “His work is genuine,” he mentioned.
This year, the Karnataka state government allotted 5 million rupees ($67,500) for the additional improvement of watersheds in the region.
Venkatesh noted that each rainy season, tanks constructed by Kamegowda turn out to be filled with water, and serve as reservoirs for birds and other forest animals in the course of the summer time.
“He is a very dedicated man, a very selfless servant for the protection of the environment and ecology. In fact, he is a role model to other people in watershed development,” Venkatesh mentioned. “He is doing very good work.”