Bhubaneswar: The struggle for water is not new in Jagatsinghpur. But instead of waiting for the administration to address the problem, Satya Narayan Swain and a small group of volunteers have been taking matters into their own hands. Their efforts range from reviving dried-up water bodies and cleaning polluted ponds to creating awareness about the importance of preserving traditional water sources.One such effort recently transformed a large pond in Kujang town market. Over the years, the waterbody had choked on water hyacinth due to neglect and pollution. Once a vital source of water for local residents, it had gradually turned into a dumping ground for household waste, religious offerings, plastic bottles and discarded pouches.Swain, an employee of Paradip Port Authority and an environmental conservation enthusiast since 2014, had witnessed the pond in its healthier days. Disturbed by its deteriorating condition, he mobilised volunteers from a local organisation and like-minded youths from the area earlier this year to undertake a restoration drive.The volunteers manually removed water hyacinth and waste from the edges of the pond. They also pooled resources to hire two trained workers who entered the deeper sections of the waterbody to clear the dense vegetation and accumulated pollutants. Once the waste was brought to the banks, the volunteers removed it and coordinated with the local civic body for its collection and disposal.The exercise was labour-intensive and continued for weeks. However, the group’s persistence paid off when water from nearby canals began flowing into the pond again. Following several spells of rain in recent weeks, the pond successfully retained water, gradually regaining its former appearance.This was not the first such initiative led by Swain, who belongs to Jagatsinghpur. A few years ago, he and a group of volunteers, mostly college students and young professionals, undertook a similar restoration drive at the pond near Jagannath Temple in Paradip.“That pond too had suffered from years of pollution due to indiscriminate garbage dumping, particularly by residents of a nearby settlement,” Swain recalled.According to Swain, the most significant outcome of these efforts is not merely revival of water bodies but the change in public behaviour. During the Paradip pond restoration, volunteers spent nearly two weeks interacting with residents and explaining the long-term impact of dumping waste into the waterbody.“A pond does not dry up overnight, after years of neglect,” Swain said. “After the pond was revived, people began treating it differently. Today, they use garbage bins installed around it instead of throwing waste into the water.”Swain emphasised that such initiatives require little financial investment. “What matters is people’s willingness to contribute their time and labour. Our traditional water bodies are more important today than ever before, and it is encouraging to see people coming forward to offer shram daan for their revival,” he said. Most of these conservation activities are carried out during weekends, when Swain and his volunteers dedicate their free time to restoring water bodies and encouraging communities to take ownership of their natural resources.
