Prithviraj Jain - Making an Impact Young

Standing at a phase where water scarcity stares at us in the eye, every act in the direction of
water conservation becomes a prominent deed. In an era of welfare addiction, every self-
fulfilling or selfless deed deserves utmost respect.
Speaking of which, it is a pride to introduce Prithviraj Jain, a 29 year old resident of
Moodubidre, a beautiful town in Dakshina Kannada district. Though Dakshina Kannada has
never really undergone very severe water scarcity issues, it is a place well known for its
unbearable heat, and has also made it into the list of drought affected areas this year. In a time
like that, Prithviraj Jain has accomplished a deed that has brought him into the limelight in the
area alongside arousing hopes of local residents with respect to water conservation.
Prithviraj has a background in MBA and has worked for a commerce based company before
he gave up his job and set foot into agriculture. Thats right, as surprising as it may sound, here
is an MBA graduate pursuing agriculture as his mainstream profession. It so happened that
Prithivaraj required to make some investments into water sources owing to the dwindling water
quantities in existing sources. Digging out a bore well or extracting ground water in any other
form is a common solution to water scarcity, but Prithviraj apparently took a different route,
through which he has helped not just himself but the entire town of Moodubidre.
An age old lake expanding upto 1.5 acres was an asset of Moodubidre since times decades, but
as Prithviraj says, there was no development activity carried out around the lake since the past
65 years. Applying his commercial, scientific and agricultural experiences, Prithviraj thought
that it would be best to replenish this lake in order to store ample water for agriculture, as well
as contribute to increase of ground water levels. However, his approach to government
authorities with this proposal seemed to yield no result, and hence Prithviraj took it upon
himself to accomplish this mammoth task.
It took a total of 24 days and a budget of 3.5 lakhs to replenish the lake, both of them provided
by Prithviraj himself, without any external aid. He hired earth movers and translocated the vast
quantity of sand and mud that had accumulated on the lake, which prevented water storage.
Prithviraj states that there were a number of ordeals that came his way like having to convince
the residents of the area to cooperate, having to stop work for around a week owing to
unpredicted rains and consequential slippery nature of the mud, financial pressures and even
peoples claims that this man is probably out of his wits. Regardless, the task that he took up
has now been accomplished beyond his own expectations and Prithviraj is naturally proud of
it. He says that this process shall yield results on different dimensions, helping people to access
fresh water for daily use and agriculture after this monsoon.
The lake now stands replenished and ready to store more than 8 feet deep water in a space
expanding over 1.5 acres. Prithviraj and a number of nearby residents can extract water from
the lake after this monsoons for agriculture, and the lake shall also help other wells in the area
fill in faster. The solution to water scarcity opted by Prithviraj was expensive, time and effort
consuming; but has ensured that there shall be no more paucity in the area for years to come.
After all has been done, the government has now promised to build a retaining wall for the
replenished lake. However, Prithviraj says that he does not like to depend on anyone, and shall
work in this direction himself for as much extent possible. To add to the accomplishment of
this, Prithviraj joined hands with an existing organisation named Namma Mane Namma Mara
and has planted 37 plants around the border of the lake. Prithviraj himself shall take care of the
saplings until they grow strong enough to sustain themselves. In a year, we can see all the
efforts yield beautiful fruits and form an independent ecosystem around the lake; hence helping
people and nature as well.
Prithviraj Jain is a dynamic personality who loves social service as much as agriculture. To add
to it, he is a passionate photographer who is also a professional in aerial photography, as he
was one of the first people in Coastal Karnataka to introduce drones in photography. However,
his major interest is agriculture, and he says that young and educated people must turn to this
field. There are ample opportunities to excel here, alongside experiment and have an exciting
life. Agriculture is as good as any other form of profession, if not better, he states. Avinash
Kamath, one of the pioneers of Namma Mane Namma Mara calls Prithviraj an unsung hero,
who has silently made an impact that is beyond most of our calibre. It is rare to see young
people of his age accomplish deeds of social service of this sort, he adds.
We commend Prithviraj Jain for the extent he chose to go to in order to make a social impact.
An act of this scale is considerably a huge challenge for a single individual, but this 29 year
old made it happen against all odds. His life so far is an inspiration for youngsters to consider
agriculture and social service seriously. We hope he continues to make impacts and inspire.