Foundation documents Beed couple's success story of farm pond that has 5 crore litres water

Shirur Kasar taluka in Beed district has a farm pond which contains 5 crore litres of water. And this was possible due to people's participation, along with generous donations from various social groups and NGOs that joined hands with the farm ponds scheme.

The farm pond inspired others to emulate the example and there are already 10 such capable of providing water to 100 acres of agricultural land.

Deepak Nagargoje and his wife Kaveri have set up Shantivan in his native village of Arvi in Shirur Kasar taluka. After trying to replicate the work done by Baba Amte in Arvi, Deepak founded Shantivan orphanage for children of destitute women and sex workers. At present, there are 650 children in Shantivan.

The Observer Research Foundation, in its detailed report of Marathwada drought, has presented the success story of Nagargoje couple — of the farm pond and the orphanage.

To build the farm pond, the total cost came to Rs1 crore since it involved digging three wells at a height lower than the level of Uthala, which is a tributary of Sindphana river. There was a need for laying the pipeline from the river to the farm pond and making a separate pipeline from the pond to Shantivan.

Entrepreneur Shashikant Chitale from Pune chipped in through his Surag Trust along with Maitra Mandiyali Group from Jalna and Birewar Foundation from Mumbai. The Sumati Ram Sagar farm pond was ready by May 2015 and the rainfall that August filled it up.