A STRONG DESIRE TO REALISE AN IDEA

HAPPINESS SOME TIME, SORROW ANOTHER TIME

Raman Kant was born on November 5, 1980, in great village Poothi of Meerut district, located in the Ganga-Yamuna Doab in the state of Uttar Pradesh. with the desire to do something different in his mind, Raman Kant in the year 2001, at the age of 20 years, decided to improve the rivers of Doab. To understand the small rivers between Ganga-Yamuna, he took foot journeys of these rivers. After understanding the suffering of the communities settled on the banks of these rivers, initiated his efforts to solve it.

Meerut district, which was a leader in the revolution of 1857, was also in the first line in the journey of Green Revolution after independence.

Poothi village is situated 28 kilometers east of Meerut city, on the road leading to Mawana from Parikshitgarh town, which is three kilometers away from Parikshitgarh town. The distance of river Ganga from my village is only 10 kilometers. My father Mr. Mahendra Singh is a farmer, he also worked as a supervisor in Mawana Sugar Mill on a temporary basis, who retired in December 2023 and my mother Mrs. Kanti Devi is a housewife. I had a brother, Rajat Kant, who was two years younger than me and who was an important pillar of my social life. He died on March 22, 2019, due to swine flu. My grandfather Late Sukkan Bhagat Tyagi was a religious man who passed away in the year 1988 while my grandmother Late Kashmiri Devi was a housewife who passed away in the year 2012.

Due to having a large family, my education till class five took place in my maternal uncle's village Sabli in Hapur district, Uttar Pradesh. My school was Rajwanti Balika Shiksha Vihar Junior High School in Chamri town near Hapur city, in which I studied till class five. In the sixth class, I got admitted back to Jai Kisan Inter College of my village Poothi and passed the tenth-class examination from here. His 12th standard education was completed at Devanagari Inter College in the historical town of Parikshitgarh, located three kilometers away from my village Poothi.

After this, I completed my B.A. from Chaudhary Charan Singh University and in the meanwhile, again staying in Hapur, completed one year computer diploma from Dolphin Computer Centre. I also completed a one-year Diploma in Journalism from Sam Higginbottom University of Agricultural Technology and Science, Allahabad.

In the village, uncles and aunts all lived together in a mansion made of LAKHORI (small) bricks. The family was very big. Like everyone else, I also used to help with farming along with studies. My temperament was a little different from the beginning, so sometimes I used to be exempted from farming work, in which I had no interest. I enjoyed making pencil art. He was fond of gardening and trees and plants in his surroundings. I was very fond of cricket and a good player. The nearby villagers would often call me to feed their teams.

By living in a joint family, I developed a good understanding of the importance of family values, which benefits me till today. There was no one in our family who could give me or any other youth in the family any better career advice, because everyone worked hard in agriculture. I didn't know what I wanted to do but I felt that I would do something different and not do a job.

In the year 2000, the houses in the village were divided. We were restricted to live where my father had to decide to live, while on the other hand both of us brothers had grown up, so my marriage started being discussed in the family. Like every parent, our parents too were worried that now both of us brothers should get a job somewhere because there is not much earning in farming, and they wanted to see our life better than theirs. Both parents wanted me to become an engineer and my brother a doctor but neither of us could become what the parents wanted. As it happens in the family, when I completed my graduation, my parents started pressurizing me to do a job. Because I had done a computer course, my maternal uncle, late Dushyant Tyagi, got me a job in a BPL company in Sahibabad. I did duty for only one day and came back to the village.

In the year 2001, both of us brothers started working in Hanuman Colonizer Private Limited in Meerut from the village with the help of our maternal uncle's contacts. This company had built a new restaurant on Roorkee Bypass in Meerut. In this, I was given the post of coordinator and my brother was given the post of assistant coordinator. In the first month, both of us got a salary of Rs 3500, of which mine was Rs 2000 and my brother was Rs 1500. Both of us went to the village and gave Rs 3500 to our parents. They were very happy. When I came back to Meerut, I said that I do not feel like doing this job. I was scolded on this matter. In this way, I got a job at two-three other places so that I could get married, but I did not work anywhere for more than a month.

I did not feel like coming back to Meerut from the village. Firstly, I did not want to do a job and secondly, my parents were alone in the village. One day I was thinking how to do what I want? The same day in the evening, one of my friends (whose furniture shop I used to spend time in Modipuram, Meerut) Amit Gupta made me meet Mr. Anil Rana at his shop. Anil Rana, who left his job at Kurukshetra University and formed a social organization Janhit Foundation in the year 1998. I was extremely impressed after meeting him and felt that I had found my way. On the third day after I met him, there was a Jal Sabha in Kishoripura, a village in Meerut (where he had built a pond). Anil Rana ji also took me there. Just after that meeting, I went to my village and told my parents that I will now do water conservation and environment protection work. The parents' displeasure over this was unbearable. The next day I came to Meerut and told the owner of the company that now I will not be able to work at your place, whereas my brother continued to work there.

From here my brother's important role begins in my life. We rented a room in Modipuram, Meerut, because earlier we used to stay in the company hotel only. A small gas cylinder fitted with a stove, flour, sugar, pulses, spices, utensils etc. were all packed in a plastic bag and brought from home. Both brothers started living here. One day I called Anil Rana ji to meet him. He called me to meet him at a photostat shop in Phulbagh Colony at 10 am, but I reached there at 8 am. I spent two hours sitting in the park of Suryakund and went to pay obeisance at the Jupiter Dev temple located there. When I reached Anil Rana ji, I directly told him that I want to work with you. Because only two years had passed since he founded the organization, he was also going through a period of struggle and his family was also not supporting him. He informed me of his situation and said that I cannot give you any money. I told him that I only want to work and do not want money from you. Seeing my insistence, he said yes.

When I came to the room in the evening and told my brother that I must do social work and will not get any money, my brother said that it does not matter, I am earning my expenses anyway. And I have also started doing some separate work to look after the construction site, some money will be received from there, flour and other kitchen items will come from the village. You do social work. When the parents came to know about all these things, they too were left heartbroken and said, 'Do whatever you want.' Every day I would go to Anil Rana ji from Modipuram and every day he would give me some new work to do. Writing Hindi, going to the field, meeting new people etc. I started enjoying this work. During this time, the company in which the brother worked closed the hotel. Brother's earnings also decreased. Didn't tell anything to parents out of fear. Keeping my future in mind, Anil Rana ji put me in Dainik Prabhat newspaper to learn Hindi for good practice. It was a newspaper published in the evening. I used to come to Dainik Prabhat for two hours every evening and handwrite the releases received properly and give them to editor Subodh Sharma. Here Pandey ji was my guide. The daily commute from Modipuram to Prabhat (near Eve's Chapel, on the drain in front of NS College) used to cost Rs 14. There was a small dhaba near Dainik Prabhat, I used to eat there every evening. Whatever the expenses were, my brother used to give it to me. During this period, I had lost about 10 kg of weight. When I went home, everyone started thinking that he is working, what is his condition.

One day I had 20 rupees in my pocket. Anil Rana ji and I went from Phoolbagh in a rickshaw to meet someone. Anil ji did not have money, so I gave ten rupees. When he returned to Phoolbagh from there, he again gave the remaining ten rupees to the rickshaw puller. Now my pockets were empty, and I had to go to Modipuram. I did not say anything to Anil ji and walked towards Begumpul because the buses to Modipuram used to run from there. I walked about 10 kilometers from Phoolbagh and reached Begumpul. Now from here I had to board a city bus to Modipuram. I requested the bus conductor that I don't have money, don't ask me for money in the bus, I will give it to you tomorrow. The conductor gave me permission to stand at a certain place behind. I then gave him the money the next day.

During this time, my brother had started getting trucks from Rodi-Badarpur on contract, so that he could save Rs 2 to 3 thousand at a time, but this used to happen once in a month. I asked Anil Rana ji to get my brother trained in rainwater conservation in the Central Ground Water Board. When he came after getting training, Rana ji made him a company by the name of 'Rain People' and engaged him in the work of rainwater conservation. Meanwhile, Rana ji received a fund of about five lakh rupees from the Center for Science and Environment, New Delhi for the study of ponds in Meerut district. Rana ji made his office at C-28 Shastri Nagar, Meerut. My responsibility was imposed in this study. I formed eight teams of two people each and went to every village of Meerut district and studied the ponds. Alone with my friend Vipul Jain, I went to about 322 villages of Meerut district on a motorcycle. In return for this work, I got twenty thousand rupees. This study was also published. Then we left the room in Modipuram and rented a room in G-111, Shastri Nagar. Both of us brothers started living here. Now because Rana ji's organization started getting many more projects, he started giving me Rs 1500 per month. Although we had a room of our own, I was enjoying my work so much that after working during the day, I used to read books related to environment and water till 12 or 1 o'clock in the night and then sleep in the office itself. After waking up in the morning, sweeping and mopping the office, then doing some work on the computer, he used to go out to the field. This sequence continued for 4 consecutive years. He also used to go to his village every 3-4 months. I kept working in the field in Daurala area, Kali River, Hindon River, Malsinghwala Punjab, pollution affected villages of Saharanpur, studying POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants) etc. Did a technical study of Hindon River in the year 2006. He traveled three times across the river from Saharanpur to Gautam Buddha Nagar and made a map of the river based on his study, which is being used today by the Government of Uttar Pradesh as well as the Government of India. Gradually I started getting Rs 9500 per month. During this period, I wrote many books related to water and farming. I never took work as a job; I always lived that work.

There was a lot of pressure from home for me to get married even though I did not want to get married. I thought that after getting married, I would be under pressure and would not be able to work openly, but in this matter my parents agreed and amidst a lot of hassles, I got married on December 2, 2007. Didn't realize how a year passed from here. Then on September 18, 2008, my guru Anil Rana died due to a heart attack. Her life took a new turn, because I got married just a year ago and the work, I was doing required a lot of resources. I did not want to do a job, did not want to go back to the village and had to do the same work. Since my wife lived in the village, she had to go to the village every week. After two years of marriage, a son was born in 2009 and a second son was born in 2010. My brother had to bear the expenses during this period because my source of income had stopped due to Rana ji's departure.

At this time my younger brother again became my support. He encouraged me and asked me to carry forward this work by forming a new organisation. For this he gave me twenty thousand rupees. I controlled myself and got mental support from some of my colleagues and formed an organization, Natural Environment Education and Research (NEER) Foundation. Bhai had taken a loan and bought a shop for Rs 2.5 lakh in a newly built complex on Garh Road, in which he had made his Rain People's office. I also put up a small board of Neer Foundation in the same office and started working from there. I still work from this office. No income, no associated money, no support except my brother. Only darkness was visible all around. My bike and I, just riding all day long. Sometimes it used to happen that there was neither oil in the motorcycle, no recharge in the mobile nor no money in the pocket, so we just sat down and slept at home. Brother also got married in the year 2009.

The journey of ten years from 2009 to today 2019 is a new part. During this time, due to lack of money, it took me two years to take 12A, 80G and FCRA, but during this time I continued my work. During this time, I continued my work in villages and schools. Be it building ponds in villages or working for the improvement of rivers, all this continued continuously.

Time changed again in February 2009 and suddenly I received an email that the 5th World Water Forum was to be held in Istanbul from 16 to 22 March. I applied for it. I got a waiver on the registration fee and was invited to present. I applied for the visa and got it within 5 days. My ticket was bought by one of my fans. The forum people decided for accommodation, food, and local transport there. All this happened so quickly as if I was dreaming. On March 15, 2009, when I went to drop my brother at New Delhi International Airport, as soon as I went inside, he started crying. I also couldn't stop seeing her crying. My flight was at 3 in the morning. The brother kept the car sitting in the parking lot till 3 o'clock and when he felt that the fly had flown away, he came back to Meerut. Mother told me all this when I returned.

I had never sat in an airplane before. When I entered the airport, I could not understand where to go and what to do. When I showed my ticket inside to get the boarding pass, I got the information that I have a connecting flight which will go to Dubai first and from there I will have to go to Istanbul on the second flight. This was explained to me by giving me two boarding passes and my luggage was taken away there. I asked who would transfer my suitcase to another plane when the plane changed hands in Dubai. He replied that all this would happen automatically. Well, from Delhi to Dubai and then from Dubai to Istanbul. After reaching Istanbul, I contacted my brother on someone's phone on the third day that I had reached safely. This forum in Istanbul changed my way of thinking. I decided that since the world is so vast, I too must think big and do groundwork. While roaming in Istanbul, I met waterman Rajendra Singh, he asked me with great surprise how did you come here? His strange behavior distressed me a lot, even though I had called Rajendra Singh ji to Meerut dozens of times. One day, while roaming around in a conference, I met the then Water Resources Minister of the Government of India, Shri Saifuddin Shoj. When I was introduced to him, he was very happy, and he kept me with him the whole day. When I came back to Delhi from there, a new thought had made its place in my heart and mind and filled me with courage. In October this year, he was invited to participate in the 7th Asia Water and Environment Forum at Thammasat University, Bangkok. Then in March 2010, a water conference was called at Nepal Engineering College. After this, every year I started getting invitations from some country or the other, but I don't know what happened, I did not feel like going. In the year 2012, I was selected as International Green Hero by the Green Organization of London and for this I was called to the House of Commons but due to lack of sufficient money in my bank account, I was not given a visa.

After returning from the World Water Forum held in Istanbul, we received an email from the World Water Monitoring Day team saying that they wanted to spread awareness about water testing with us. For this they sent us water testing kits. We completed the given task through those kits before the scheduled time, due to which we were given Asia's Water Champion Award by the International Water Association and World Environment Federation for three consecutive years in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Water Digest Award for the year 2011 and 2013 was given by Water Digest and UNESCO. Water Oasis Award by World Water Monitoring Day, Ground Water Award of the year 2016 by Government of Uttar Pradesh, Gaon Gaurav, Vardaan Karmaveer Chakra, Earth Day Champion by Earth Day Network, Terry Award 2020 for conservation of rivers by Water Keeper Alliance Dozens of awards were received during this period, such as the Baker Award and the 21st Century Youth Icon Award given by a London agency in 2020. In the year 2020 itself, I also received the National Water Award from the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India.

After this, I got involved in the work of river rejuvenation with more hard work than before. During this period, technical, policy and groundwork was started for the small rivers of Ganga-Yamuna Doab. In this, the work of finding the origin of Hindon, Kali Purvi, Kali Paschim, Krishna, Nagdehi, Pavdhoi, Dhamola, Neem and Karvan rivers and reviving the origin of Kali Purvi and Neem rivers was started. The voice of these rivers was taken from the society to the government.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, Government of India, I have prepared the country's first pollution-free modern crusher (jaggery making plant) in my village Poothi. With the help of UNDP and CE, his innovation LR (Lalit-Raman) compost pit was popularized among the farmers. Through this pit, farmers are freed from burning crop residues and they get liquid and solid fertilizers. Hundreds of models for rejuvenation of hundreds of ponds and rainwater conservation have been made. Rural Water Center has also been established in his village Poothi. Dozens of people contact us daily for ponds and rainwater conservation, which our team solves.

I got completely immersed in the work of rivers with hard work, so in the year 2017, late Meenakshi Arora, associated with India Water Portal, connected me with Water Keeper Alliance, an international organization of rivers based in America. I was made the East Kali River Water Keeper here. In June 2017 itself, I got the opportunity to go to Deer Valley in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, for a week-long International River Seminar of Waterkeeper Alliance. During this time, I got the opportunity to meet all the big organizations and representatives from all over the world working for rivers and learn about their work. During this time, I got the opportunity to do excellent work for the Hindon River in Meerut with the then Divisional Commissioner Dr. Prabhat Kumar, so the Waterkeeper Alliance also made me the Hindon River Waterkeeper. I also got the opportunity to attend the 2018 International River Seminar organized by Waterkeeper Alliance in Buffalo. During this time, I stayed in America for a week more and visited some other rivers there like Genesee. During this time, we also got an opportunity to see the Niagara Falls.

I have been appointed member of the State Wildlife Board by the Government of Uttar Pradesh in 2018. For the past several years, I have been volunteering for the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, an organization that carries out intelligence and action to protect wild animals under the Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, Government of India, in Western Uttar Pradesh. It is included in many waters related committees by the Uttar Pradesh government. I have also been made the president of the Ground Water Army formed by the Uttar Pradesh Government.

Everything was going well but life once again took a turn and my companion, my younger brother, was taken away from me by God on World Water Day, March 22, 2019. With his trust and the support of his shoulder, I was able to undertake this journey of my social life. Today he is not with me live, but even today, every moment, I feel that he is always with me. ‘Rajat Ki Boonde’ National Water Award has been started in his memory from the year 2020. For the last two years, this award is being given to a water activist and water journalist on March 22.

It took time to recover from here, but I did not lose courage and during this time I took my river work forward in a more systematic way and developed my own river rejuvenation model. On its basis, the origin place of East Kali River was revived. Started doing technical study of all the rivers and started searching the lost rivers on the ground through the British Gazetteer and the documents of the Irrigation Department. I have explored dozens of rivers in many districts. Meanwhile, the Corona period arrived, and I was not able to do much field work for almost two years. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I wrote a book on ancient ponds, for the release of which Sangh's Sarsanghchalak Dr. Mohanrao Bhagwat himself came to Meerut and my book was released on June 15, 2022. Dr. Mohanrao Bhagwat himself came to Meerut and my book was released. Did.

In June 2022 itself, Waterkeeper Alliance's International River Seminar was organized in Washington DC from 5-12 June, in which I also got the opportunity to attend. During this time, I got the effect of addressing the people there. During this time, I was also awarded the prestigious Terry Baker Award by the Waterkeeper Alliance. The draft river policy of Uttar Pradesh was developed in August 2022. In this, a blueprint has been drawn to revive the rivers of Uttar Pradesh state. Similarly, it was also decided to carry out some other types of activities in relation to rivers.

By gaining experience from the work of Waterkeeper Alliance, the Indian River Council was formed in February 2023. The objective of the Indian River Council is to strive for the betterment of Indian rivers and to provide a common platform to people who want to contribute to river rejuvenation in any part of the country. With this, complete information about the river system of India can be obtained on the river philosophy being developed through the Indian River Council.

A better opportunity for me came the day when the source of NEEM River starting from Datyana village of Hapur district was revived after two years of efforts. River Festival was celebrated on Neem River on May 18, 2023, and on June 18, 2023, the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, in the 102nd episode of his 'Mann Ki Baat' program, detailed the efforts made for the revival of the source of NEEM River. Mentioned from.

I have also participated in many policies works in the last two decades of my journey. Through his efforts, while he has prepared the draft of the river policy of Uttar Pradesh, he has also played an important role in the policy draft of the Uttar Pradesh government for the improvement of ponds and in the ground water law of Uttar Pradesh. The work of national water policy, technical study of Kali and Hindon rivers and submitting them to the government and giving support and suggestions to the governments on environment and water related issues continues even today. India has taken the presidency of G20 and has taken the issues of rivers and water seriously by joining G20's associate group C20.

I have taken forward my efforts towards inculcating nature conservation among children, turning farmers towards chemical-free agriculture and making society respect natural water sources. I am working wholeheartedly at both the policy and ground levels in coordination with society and government to keep India's rivers pollution-free and to revive them.

Even today, with the same vigor and with the concept of 'Vasudaiva Kutumbakambh', I am actively engaged in fulfilling the objectives set for nature conservation. Whatever we get from nature including water, food, and air, we should pay its price, this has been my belief since the beginning. I believe that every person in the society should understand his duty towards nature and should realize the concept of development without harming nature.

Presently I am trying to make the rivers of the country clean and uninterrupted. For this, various types of river rejuvenation models have been developed. Based on these models, efforts for river rejuvenation are being made by the government and society on dozens of rivers of the country. My role is to provide technical support in these works, which I am performing well.

To fulfill my writing hobby, I have been writing articles related to water and environment in daily newspapers and magazines, but in the meantime, I had given up on all this. During this time, I again made this sequence and started writing in national newspapers and magazines. This sequence continues even today.

I am playing my positive role in removing the gloom that exists regarding small rivers in the country and want to convert that gloom into hope through my efforts. I believe that every person of the society should understand his responsibility and play a positive role in the improvement of water, rivers, and environment. I believe that the revival of Kali and Neem rivers will create awareness about rivers in the society.

I consider Shiva as nature. I believe that all the dimensions of Shiva are symbols of nature. On this basis, I am slowly moving forward with full dedication. Thousands of volunteers from hundreds of villages, towns and cities are associated with us. My aim is to see the rivers of the country flowing clean and uninterrupted. Even today, I am moving towards my set goals with steady pace, hard work, dedication, and honesty.

The gist so far is that God chose me for this work. Even when he gave me troubles, he also gave me support from time to time to get me out of those troubles. Even today, whenever despair approaches, a ray of hope automatically blossoms in some corner. By the will of that Lord, my order continues even today and if the Lord wills, this order will continue like this. I must achieve my set goals. Lord is with me.

Until the goal is accomplished. Till then my pace will not stop.

Whenever the rivers will be clean and uninterrupted. Only then will my happiness increase