Neglected by Maharashtra govt, Akola farmer builds dam after selling land

The 42-year-old farmer said the government officials raised objections when he began to build the dam and filed complaint against him for using the soil as they dubbed it ‘illegal’.

[related-post]

“The administration tried to harass me in the name of law. The construction of dam was stopped for four to five days. I faced a loss of Rs. two lakh,” he said. “I informed them about my problems, I repeatedly asked the government for assistance to build a dam, but they refused to provide any assistance. So, I decided to build the dam on my own,” he added.

Tidke, who sold 10 acres for Rs 55 lakh, is using Rs 20 lakh to build a dam having a water storage capacity of three crore litres. The farmer also vent his ire against the officials, who initially posed hindrances but are now appreciating his initiative.

“They are the ones, who didn’t help me when I was pleading them for support. Now, they are saying that they would assist me in the rest of the work,” he said.