An undivided community, self-reliance in water, innovative farming and a disciplined life — Hiware Bazaar lives by these mantras. From a hilltop, the village in Ahmed Nagar district of Maharashtra looks like an eruption of green among lands left parched by poor rain during the previous years. “See how green is my village. But we have received very low rainfall for three consecutive years,” Mohan Thange says with a sense of pride. The good tidings mean those who migrated from here are returning. Hiware Bazaar has a population of 1,350. The average income of farmers is ₹10 lakh to ₹12 lakh a year. Just a decade ago, they were living below the poverty line.
Popatrao Baguji Pawar, who was chosen as panchayat pradhan in 1989, led the transformation. With the guidance of Anna Hazare, he gave thrust to rainwater conservation and equal distribution of water. He motivated the villagers to live a disciplined life, kept liquor out of the village boundaries and convinced the people not to sell land to anyone from outside.
These mantras appeared to have worked. Awards and recognition have come to Mr. Pawar for his initiatives. He comes out of the panchayat office with the water audit report of Hiware Bazaar. “The country needs to have such reports for every village to save them from the rapid changes of climate,” he says. This will help redesign crop patterns and establish a water management system. He is planning to launch a mobile app for the village to receive daily weather updates, market prices of crops, organic and carbon status of the villages around, and soil health and water audit reports.
“The Hiware Bazar Gram Sabha have already decided to have a community drip irrigation project at a cost of Rs. 26 crore, which would interconnect 364 existing wells in the village to three main wells for equal distribution of water,” he said.
Moment in the sun: Hiware Bazaar has taken the path on which the sun shines bright. The younger generation goes to school regularly, lending hope that the village will strike upon new ideas to diversity further.
Go forth and conquer: The hardy farmers of Hiware Bazaar have converted the rocky outcrops in the village into fertile farmland, carving out an island of green on a semi-arid terrain with the plough and a meticulous rainwater management system in just 25 years.
Where ideas germinate: The public library in the village is a converging point for the young and the old. The people set much store by knowledge and education.
Return of the native: Vasanth Bhau Kharat (75), along with his wife, Kusum, returned from Mumbai in 2000 after service at BEST. Post-retirement, he learnt farming and started cultivating his 16 acres of land with the help of neighbours.
The bucolic life: Jagannath Yadav Thange, his wife, son, Santosh, and daughter-in-law harvest onions, while his granddaughter sit on top of their car on their farm. Mr. Thange migrated to Mumbai in the late 1970s, but returned in the late 1980s when the village turned the corner. Today, he owns 12 acres of land and raises two crops a year, making ₹10 lakh to ₹12 lakh.
To market: Bhau Baji Thange loads onions with the help of a truck driver employed by the Hiware Bazaar gram panchayat. The truck goes around the farms and take produce to the nearby market at Ahmed Nagar, the district headquarters in Maharashtra. Mr. Thange owns 8 acres of land and harvest two crops a year, making ₹3 lakh to ₹4 lakh.
Face of change: The dairy collection centre in the village receives 1,500 litres of milk a day. Popatrao Baguji Pawar, the man behind the transformation of Hiware Bazaar, is working on a project to increase production to 10,000 litres a day in five years and brand the milk.
Capacious container, copious produce: Bhau Baji Thange loading the harvested onions with the help of the truck driver employed by the gram panchayat. The truck goes around the farms and takes the harvest to a nearby market in Ahmed Nagar. Mr. Thange owns 8 acres of land and raises two crops in a year, fetching at least ₹3 lakh to ₹4 lakh.
Unfettered dreams: Sonia Yashwant Chattar (17), a 12th standard science student, and Kirti Balasaheb Padir (20), doing her second year B.Sc., represent the aspirational younger generation of Hiware Bazaar. Ms. Padir is aspiring to join the IPS and Ms. Chattar is planning to become a doctor. Even a decade ago, girls in the village would drop out at the eighth standard. But the drive for girls’ education has empowered the village as a whole.