Archive · 25 Sep 2026
How Five Indian Rivers Were Brought Back to Life
Five rivers in India had become very weak, polluted or dry.
Different communities used different ways to help them recover.
In Rajasthan, villagers built structures to collect rainwater and refill underground water.
In Maharashtra, workers reduced sewage and waste entering the Kham River.
In Chhattisgarh, people studied the entire Sakri River and then built check dams, cleared silt and treated sewage.
In Tamil Nadu, women helped build wells and barriers so rainwater could soak into the ground and restore the Naganadhi.
In Kerala, workers removed weeds, plastic and layers of mud from the Kuttemperoor River.
These examples show that restoring a river also means repairing the land, water systems and communities around it.
The Sakri’s later problems also show that rivers need continued care after restoration.
Rainwater harvesting structures helped restore the Arvari River in Rajasthan after decades without flow.
The Kham River in Maharashtra was treated by addressing sewage, waste, encroachments and pollution sources.
A 90-kilometre survey, desilting, check dams and sewage treatment helped revive Chhattisgarh’s Sakri River.
Thousands of recharge structures built with the participation of about 20,000 women helped restore Tamil Nadu’s Naganadhi.
The Kuttemperoor River in Kerala was cleared of weeds, plastic, silt and waste, allowing its flow and nearby well levels to improve.
- Who
- Communities, villagers, local administrations, organisations, workers and citizen groups involved in projects across India.
- What
- Five nearly dead or degraded rivers—the Arvari, Kham, Sakri, Naganadhi and Kuttemperoor—were restored through different conservation and cleanup efforts.
- When
- The projects took place across several years, including work beginning in the 1980s for the Arvari, 2014 for the Naganadhi, 2016 for the Kuttemperoor and 2019 for the Kham and Sakri.
- Where
- Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, India.
- Why
- The rivers had suffered from water loss, falling groundwater, sewage, waste, weeds, silt, encroachments or illegal sand mining.
- Rivers covered
- Arvari, Kham, Sakri, Naganadhi and Kuttemperoor
- Arvari structures
- Tarun Bharat Sangh recorded 402 water conservation structures in the Arvari catchment by 2018.
- Kham pollution sources
- A survey identified 249 sewage discharge points and 16 freshwater springs along the urban stretch.
- Sakri river length surveyed
- The Bolti Nadi initiative walked and documented the river’s full 90-kilometre course through 59 villages.
- Naganadhi participation
- Around 20,000 women participated in building recharge structures across the catchment.
- Kuttemperoor restoration
- About 700 local men and women worked for 70 days through MGNREGA in 2016.
- Sakri result
- The Sakri flowed continuously from its origin to its confluence for four consecutive years from 2019 to 2023.