Bolti Nadi Initiative
Bolti Nadi Initiative was set up in 2016 by the core team of the ‘Meer Foundation’ Meer Foundation is a registered non-government-organization established in 2011, working in the areas of environment with the mission of making rural Chhattisgarh drought-free and prosperous. The health of our river and streams depends on all of us, Our mission is to protect the rivers and streams that provide drinking water for more than 20 million people across the state. Working across the basin to reduce pollution, protect headwaters and promote water-smart practices and policies.
Our Water
The Chhattisgarh’s River system is the lifeblood of the Middle-India, supplying drinking, industrial, farming water and jobs for millions. Unfortunately, The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks 2020 Report has water crises in the top 10 of the most likely and highest impact problems that we will face in the next 10 years.
Our web of rivers and streams is the lifeblood of the region. It provides drinking water for approx. 20 million people, including the communities of Rural and Urban Chhattisgarh. It sustains orchards, industries, dairy farms and nurseries.
Smart laws and caring landowners have helped clean up historic pollution, but poorly planned development is still a threat. Rain running off roads, drains, industries carries waste, oil and chemicals. The loss of trees and native plants that act as natural water filters leads to flooding, and streams clogged with silt, trash and algae.
That is why Bolti Nadi Initiative along with fifty nonprofit organizations have come together to protect and restore the waterways our communities and economy rely on. Together with scientists, home and landowners, local officials and volunteers, they are conserving forests and farms, cleaning up streams, and bringing back native plants.
Threats
The Bolti Nadi Initiative is focused on four key stressors that threaten the health of our waterways, and the safety and reliability of our rivers. While unsustainable amounts of sand and gravel are extracted from riverbeds to meet soaring demand for construction. Together, they are starving these rivers of sediment. This is putting the livelihoods of millions of people billions of rupees in investments and trillions of rupees of economic assets at risk as well as priceless ecosystems.
Loss of Forested Headwaters
Damaging Rivers
Agriculture Runoff
Pollution
Model Conduct of Solution
To ensure the river basin system can provide clean drinking water to all for generations to come, conservation groups and community partners are focused on three solutions
Draft Policy
Every river has it’s own requirements for revitalization, The “Bolti Nadi Journal” Draft Policy Recommendation is work specifically for each rivers to understand the real need of specific river and it’s need.
Forrest Buffer
To regulating our water supply and improving its quality. We strongly believe and push-forwards the Buffer zones for forest reserves.
Water Monitoring
We train citizen scientists to become the eyes and ears of their own local waterways. Monitoring data and citizen concerns help direct our focus to streams that need help. We urge one hour a week or at least once in a month.
Expertise
We welcome all environmental scientists, experts and practitioners to contribute their knowledge and expertise towards creating a roadmap to restore and rejuvenate our depleting rivers.
River Walk
To regulating our water supply and improving its quality. We strongly believe and push-forwards the Buffer zones for forest reserves.
School Program
In the classroom and on the water, we connect people with their local rivers, mountains, and forests while educating about wildlife, history, & current issues.
Founder
“Five years ago, we started with a small dream. The dream was that if people united and worked as one, Chhattisgarh would become drought-free with Clean Water recourses. In 2017, there were more then three hundred School, Collages and villages working to become water-abundant. By 2019, start walking besides rivers and workshop programme to connect rural and urban areas to joined the movement. People worked relentlessly and shattered barriers of gender, politics, class, religion and caste. Moving forward, we envision a future where Chhattisgarh’s citizens can create the life of their dreams; where we can restore our environment and ensure greater financial security. We invite you to join this water revolution.”
PHILOSPHY
“For me, doing social work and supporting NGOs is more important than endorsing a brand. I think that’s what God has given us as artist. If you can do social work – for the environment, for poor, for the elderly, for children who are terminally ill, for animals that cannot speak for themselves – I think that’s more important than walking around in dark glasses with bodyguards. As an Artist we’re given an opportunity, a platform – and I think the best way we can use that platform is to support charitable causes and try to improve things around us in any way we can.”
Amir Hashmi
Founder, Bolti Nadi
Want to volunteer?
We’ve had an incredible response so far, and are doing everything we can to respond to everyone who wants to volunteer in one of our community programmes.
Are you a Leader?
The Bolti Nadi Leaders: Chhattisgarh program is a twelve-month, virtual leadership development and civic engagement program that seeks to inspire, empower, and connect emerging leaders from across the state.
100G
The average Indian uses 100 gallons of water per day at home
1%
Earth’s surface is 70% covered by water, but less than 1 percent is available for human use
65%
Percent of our drinking water that comes from rivers and streams
44%
Percent of assessed waterways in the United States too polluted for fishing or swimming
Bolti Nadi has been at the forefront of expanding national interest in protecting the waters of our country, encouraging diversity in the environmental movement, and helping engaged community members and local organizations take a stand for their waters. On November, 2017, The formal launch of the “Bolti Nadi Save River – Clean River Campaign Amongst Youth” in Chhattisgarh with the blessings of the then Chief Minister Honorable Dr. Raman Singh.
In 2019, in the Sakri river of Chhattisgarh. We did a detailed research by taking samples of all the connecting villages situated besides the river on Water label, Animal, Agricultural effect and Historical aspects as well as make a documentary film by walking approx. 90 k.m. besides the Sakri River from origin point’s first village (Kariyama Village, Dist. Kabirdham, Chhattisgarh) of River to the end point of the Sakri River (Darhi Village, Dist. Bemetara, Chhattisgarh) where it merged in the Half River.
MISSION & VISION
Bolti Nadi empowers and unites Youth, People and communities to protect and restore rivers and other waters that sustain all life. We believe that everyone should have access to affordable, clean water, and healthy rivers. Find out more about our values here.
STRONG CAMPAIGNS AMONGST YOUTH
Every river needs their own and original solution, one idea to restore all rivers around the globe is myth. We believe in work each river separately. Thousands of rivers and the watersheds weave a tapestry across our landscape that connects our ecosystems, cities, economies, communities and culture. Local caretakers, advocates, and enthusiasts are essential to protect and restore these systems.
THE INITIATIVE
In 2019, in the Sakri river of Chhattisgarh. We did a detailed research by taking samples of all the connecting villages situated besides the river on Water label, Animal, Agricultural effect and Historical aspects as well as make a documentary film by walking approx. 90 k.m. besides the Sakri River from origin point’s first village (Kariyama Village, Dist. Kabirdham, Chhattisgarh) of River to the end point of the Sakri River (Darhi Village, Dist. Bemetara, Chhattisgarh) where it merged in the Half River.
This documentaries is broadcasting and exhibiting in Worldwide Film Festivals and educational institutes across the state. In this various film festivals which covers more than 50 countries around the world, the best ideas of the world can be exchanged for the revitalization of our rivers.
Recently has been awarded by the National Film Award in Short film Category by the “Information and Broadcasting ministry, Govt. of India” and “National Film Development Corporation” for his Short film “Mirror of the Clean India” a social awareness film based on Swachh Bharat Mission.
Amir Hashmi said, “Before stating the freedom fight in India, Mahatma Gandhi had travelled approx. 2 years in India by train. I think before rejuvenation of any river, we need to understand the geographical, historical, water level, and people behaviour by people to people connect.
We start my filming from the origin point village to the end point of river. While making this film I walk 4 days continuously and staying in the villages near to the river. This film will bring the focus of the attention of intellectuals, environmentalist and organizations from all over the World to Chhattisgarh, India.”
In the Sakri river of Chhattisgarh, Amir Hashmi has done detailed research by taking samples of all the connecting villages situated besides the river, such as Water label, Animal, Agricultural effect and Historical aspects and made a documentary film by walking 4 days approx 90 k.m. beside Sakri River, from origin point’s first village (Kariyama Village, Dist. Kabirdham, Chhattisgarh) of River to the end point of the River (Darhi Village, Dist. Bemetara, Chhattisgarh) where it merged in the Half River.
Earlier, we started the Bolti Nadi Initiative with Urban model (urban area), in which we have a wide range of universities, colleges and schools in more than 16 districts of the state. Performed workshops and shared different views and ideas with the public awareness and idea sharing program with public awareness. We have interacted with more than two lakh youth through large scale workshops in two years.
Now the initiative has been initiated in Rural model (rural areas) where the Bolti Nadi Campaign conducting awareness campaign in the rural area’s villages adjacent to the rivers, we will first warn about the damage to the environment and motivate the villages for public participation to Save River & Clean River. Together, we will uplift the rivers by Shramdaan (Public Participation) on the life of rivers again.
We surveyed almost all the villages adjoining the river, and we found that . “One idea to restore all Rivers” is myth, each village has their different types of problems and we need to fix it by performing a separate plan for each area. Based on these samples, we are able to know better what are the requirements in each village.
Narva, Garva, Ghurwa and Bari will prove to be good initiatives but not enough; Describing the experience of his journey, I can say that rivers are not only a source of water but part of our civilizations, during my journey, I saw the development of Chhattisgarh initiated a project Narva, Garva, Ghurwa and Bari.
During the river walk from origin to end, my attention was constantly in this initiative, it was running in it’s full speed, which is commendable. I passed through 3 assembly constituencies on this river walk, where the MLAs also came and met me, the MLAs has also shared their constituency’s development pictures of this project. In an other end of city Kawardha, seeds being sent to Gothans are also being prepared in April in the nursery which will be sent to the panchayats by the month of June. Whereas MNREGA laborers will be draining Narva (Channel) from place to place at 175 Rs. Per day wages.
The task of evacuating the Silt is seen and at the first glance, this slogan (Narva, Garva, Ghurva aur Bari) appears to be coming in practice but there are many shortcomings in this project for the rejuvenation of rivers, which need to be addressed.
The villages connected to them are very important in the regeneration of rivers, and each village has different needs. One idea cannot be imposed on everyone, just as Jaggi Vasudev (Sadguru) made a mistake, taking the idea of Rally for River.
He did a good job for awareness, but it was a wrong decision to impose the same idea on the whole country, before implementing such a ideas, we must have to check the ground reality once. Rivers cannot be revived only by the government, to make it properly implemented the public participation is required. I will try to unite the state and other social organizations of the country for this and international intellectuals too though my films.
About 270 active NGOs across the state are with us right now, through the NGO federation. And the best part is that in Chhattisgarh, there is no shortage of willpower among the people of this state, only the spark to protect the environment and its safety is required though strong campaigns and public participation meetings, the state of “Dhaan Ka Katora” (Bowl of Rice) will be successful once again in making its identity around the world.
Amir Hashmi 