Our dream is to make Maharashtra drought-free in five years: Aamir Khan

On Monday, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan said it was his dream to put an end to Maharashtra’s water crisis ‘for good’ in the next five year period.

The actor was speaking at ‘Satyamev Jayate Water Cup Awards 2016’, a competition that judged the water harvesting efforts of various villages. The ‘Lagaan’ actor and his wife Kiran Rao, along with the team of his TV show ‘Satyamev Jayate’, have formed Paani Foundation, which works in association with the state government to find ways to end water scarcity.

The first prize, worth Rs. 50 lakhs, went to Velu village in Koregaon tehsil. Second prize of Rs. 30 lakhs was shared by Khapartone and Jaigaon villages in Ambejogai and Koregaon tehsils, respectively. Radi Tanda in Ambejogai and Wathoda in Warud tehsils shared the third prize, carrying Rs. 20 lakhs.

The competition was held from April 20 to June 5 and villages were judged on the basis of the amount of water storage they created through water harvesting methods.

The 51-year-old actor also lauded the efforts of state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis towards making the state drought-free. “It is our dream to make Maharashtra drought-free in five years. And it is our good fortune that Maharashtra got a Chief Minister who has pledged to solve the water crisis. His political will is really strong,” Aamir told reporters.

In response, Fadnavis said that people’s participation was of utmost importance for an initiative like this and hailed Aamir and his team for their contribution and efforts. “Now our ‘yug dharam’ is to end drought. That is our aim…A big movement of water conservation has started. I thank Aamir. He is a perfectionist not only in reel but even in real life,” he said.

While the first edition of the Water Cup was restricted to just three districts. Aamir is hopeful that the next phase of the Cup would involve around 30 districts. “In round one, we worked in 3 districts. In round 2, we are hoping to go to 30 districts and use our learning of round one there,” the actor said.

The ‘PK’ actor admitted that he was inspired by the overwhelming response to the competition and credited the locals for the contest’s success. “It is inspiring to see (the result). We wanted to see if people will do this on their own because we are giving them only knowledge and training. Ultimately everything else they have to put in,” Aamir added.