April 21, 2018
Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan hopes that people unify,
irrespective of their socio-political and economic differences, for the pursuit
of bringing about positive change.
Aamir, who through his NGO Paani
Foundation, is working towards making Maharashtra a drought-free state, believes
the process is, in a way, a celebration of humanity.
About the problem
that the NGO faced in reaching out to villagers, Aamir, addressing media here on
Saturday, said: "Well, we were aware of the fact that there is a certain problem
will come on our way, so we designed the whole programme in a way to deal with
those obstacles. One of the biggest challenges is bringing people together for
the cause.
"Look, our society is cracked on many levels. There are
different political parties in every village, the caste system is very strong in
villages. There are landowners, labourers from the different economic
background. Convincing everyone that how water-shade management is actually
going to help all of them was a task. But the best thing is, the villagers
helped each other to overcome these issues."
"Since they came together to
build up the watershed management system, there is a human bonding the developed
among each other. It's a very different level of emotional binding. And
tomorrow, if there is any problem, they are well trained enough to handle that,"
he added.
Giving a conceptual example, Aamir said: "You see, water can
only be stored in a pot which has no holes in it, right? Until people in a
society coming close together like a pot, the water will not be stored. If there
is any crack in the society, the idea will slip through, like water will slip
from a cracked pot. We are trying to bring people closer together in the same
manner."
Starting out with three talukas, now Paani foundation has
extended their working areas to 75 talukas and according to Aamir, women are
playing a very active role in executing the work.
Citing one such
example, he said: "Women are very actively participating in 'Shramdaan' (labour
donation). In the beginning, the men of the villages were quite lazy and
disinterested to participate in the activity. So a group of women, after doing
their day-long shramdaan, did not go back to home, instead, they spent the whole
night at the temple.
"They told their husbands, that unless they take
part in the activity, they will not go back home. To our surprise, within 24
hours, all the men of those houses agreed to participate in shramdaan. I think
it is also in a way taking a step towards addressing social issues."
As
the foundation is organizing a 'Mahashramdaan', where citizens, both urban and
rural, will meet and work together for water abundance, Aamir urged everyone to
participate.
People can participate by registering online from the Paani
Foundation website and travel to the villages to donate their labour of three
hours on May 1.
Asked about if his children also have the same interest
in the cause like their father, Aamir said: "Yes, Junaid is actively working
with us, he goes to Paani Foundation office every day. Ira is not here, she is
studying abroad."
Asked if he also was socially active as a youngster, he
said he was.
"As a youngster, I was quite socially aware of everything
happening around me. I used to take part in the social cause," he replied.