Akshay Kumar spends three hours water harvesting in Satara

Yesterday, when Akshay Kumar headed to Wai, he had two things on his itinerary.  The first was the shooting of Karan Johar’s patriotic film, Kesari, a major portion of which is being shot in and around the town.

But once he had taken off his turban, the Pad Man actor got started on the second thing that was on his mind. Accompanied by some members of his team, he headed to Pimpode Budruk, which is located in Koregaon Tehsil in Satara, Maharashtra, and helped the locals with water harvesting.

One hears that ever since Kesari rolled in January this year, during his frequent trips Akshay has been keenly studying the topography and climatic conditions of the place. He had also been interacting with the locals. In one of his conversations, Akki heard about Pimpode Budruk, which had been facing a water crisis.

A source said, “Besides donating Rs 25 lakh to the villagers to get them to begin work on water harvesting, Akshay travelled there yesterday to work with them. He helped them dig huge recharge pits to store water that could later be harvested.”

Apparently, this hamlet, which has a population of around 10,000 people, has been facing a severe drought situation, though some of the other villages located in the same vicinity have been more fortunate with the water supply situation.

An insider, who accompanied Akki on the mission,  said the locals were happy with the actor’s participation. When he told them, “I don’t want you to have water in your eyes, it’s your taps that must have water,” the crowd cheered. Incidentally, Akshay recently received the social influencer award from a media house. The award was given to him by Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis.