Repair of Earthen Dams in Satara District is a Flagship project of RCPC and was initiated in 2022-23, with the repair of a small dam. During the year 2023-24, a large Earthen Dam near Rajapur Village was taken up for repairs. This Dam, built in the 1940s was meant to provide storage for the villages around the area. Due to almost no monsoon rains in 2023 and a very lean monsoon in 2022, the storage area of this dam had dried up completely. The work on the dam be gan on 28th February 2024, with a traditional Pooja performed by R’Ann Dipti Chitnis and Rtn. Giri Sakhrani, and was attended by almost the entire population of Rajapur Villsage. The photos show what the terrain looked like on that day. To understand the mode of repairs carried out, a brief background is necessary. Satara District can be divided vertically into two parts – the Western half, which comprises of the Western Ghats, and is home to the famous hill stations of Mahabaleshwar and Panchgini, which receive copious amounts of rainfall during the SW Monsoons, to the extent that many of the establishments are closed during the monsoons, The Eastern half is comprised of plains and low undulating hills, which are in a ‘Rain-Shadow’ area, and only receive rainfall during the withdrawal of the SW monsoons. To cater for the water requirements of this region around 180 earthen dams were built in the first half of the 20th Century. Over the years these dams have developed severe leaks and thus the water stored therein lasts only till about Nov-Dec, and makes life extremely difficult for the inhabitants of the area. The Government attempted repairs of these dams, but as is typical of all Govt. projects spent a lot of money in achieving very little. That is when some private citizens got involved and started working the locals. One of the leading persons involved with this was an engineer-turned-businessman-turned philanthropist named Padmakar Bhide, affectionately called Bandu Bhide. Our very own Rtn. Giri Sakhrani came in contact with Bandu, and thus began our relationship with this project. We raised funds in 2023-23, and 2023-24 for this project, as they are quite high budget activities; but more than that, we started involving ourselves with the projects by regular ste visits and interaction with the villagers and local activists. The repairs involve digging a 10-feet wide trench at the base of the dam wall. The trench is dug till hard rock is hit. The Dam face, which as can be seen in the photograph is covered with wild bushes and some trees, which is also cleaned up. The source of the leakage is identified, and cemented. Thereafter, thick plastic sheets are laid in the trench and the on the dam-face, and the trench is refilled with the excavated mud and silt. Once this is completed we wait for the rains! This year we were blessed with early rains in the region, during the upward movement of the SW Monsoon. As soon as the rains started, the desilting work was stopped, and the water started filling up. By September, the reservoir had filled up and water started overflowing from the waste weir, located at the western edge of the Dam. Rtn. Giri Sakhrani arranged a visit to the site on the 6th of November, and a group of seven Rotarians led by Pres Brig PKM Raja took the opportunity of seeing for ourselves the result of the combined efforts put in by the locals, Bandu Bhide and his team and our club. RCPC was represented by Rtn. Pres. Brig PKM Raja, Rtn. PP Ajay Dubey, Rtn. IPP Cmde Ajay Chitnis, Rtns Giri Sakhrani, Rakesh Makhija, Nitin Rajore and Shireesh Nadkar. We were met by the Sarpanch of the Village, the Head Master of the local school, and a bucnch of Villagers at the Dam and walked together over the length of the Dam chatting with them. The Sarpanch, Mr. Hanumant Dhandke was beaming when he said that the drinking water problems of the village are finally over. He explained that earlier, they were getting water by tankers to fill the community well, and the supplying water to the village. Now, with the filling up of the lake, the community well was full of water, and clean drinking water is available at all houses in the village. Also, some houses which had wells, that were completely dry for many years, had got filled up, and some were even overflowing. The joy in his voice was echoed by all the villagers present. Even more surpring is that even though it has not rained for over a month, water is still flowing in the waste weir. This, as explained by Bandu Bhide was due to the fact that the water table in the entire are had gone up, and the water was percolating into the lake. Villages and wells within a 5km radius have benefitted from this project, and this means that around 5000 people are living a better life, thanks to the initiative taken by Rtn Giri, and generous contributions from members of RCPC. This success story will inspire greater contributions in the forthcoming years, and more dams will get repaired.