Question

Who of the following is called the Waterman of India?
A) Dr. Laxmi Swaminathan
B) Dr. Rajendrasingh Rana
C) Dr. Rajendrasingh Khurana
D) None of the above

Answer 1

Hint: He was born on 6th August 1959 in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh and was an Indian Conservationist and environmentalist. He runs an NGO named Tarun Bhagat Singh started in 1975.
In Britain, he is one of the founding members of an NGO named Flow Partnership, aiming to reduce the negative effects of flooding and soil erosion.

Complete answer:
Let us find the answer from given options
Option A) Dr. Laxmi Swaminathan - She was an Indian Independence revolutionary, an Indian Army Officer and an important part of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in the 1940s. She is called as Captain Laxmi, in reference to her rank when she was imprisoned in Burma during WWII. Thus, this option is incorrect.
Option B) Dr. Rajendrasingh Rana - He is known as the ‘waterman of India’ for his water revolution in the Indian state of Rajasthan. He built thousands of ‘Johad’ which are community-maintained rainwater harvesting and storage systems and check dams. He is also the member of the National Ganga River Basin Authority or NGRBA started in 2009, by the Union Government as authority to look over the Ganga river. His NGO Tarun Bhagat Singh (TBS) helped the villagers to take charge over the management of water resources in the area where the bureaucracy is slow. Therefore, it is the correct answer.
Option C) Dr. Rajendrasingh Khurana - This is an incorrect option with the similar name as ‘Rajendrasingh Rana’ to create confusion. This is a hypothetical name and hence it is wrong.

Thus, the correct answer is Option B. Dr. Rajendrasingh Rana.

Note:
- He won the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2001 for his community leadership and effort in the field of water harvesting and management.
- He also won the Stockholm Water Prize in 2015 which is also known as the Nobel Prize for water.
- The Guardian magazine listed his name in the list of “50 people who could save the Earth”.
- He was given the Ahimsa Award in the year 2016 by the Institute of Jainology found in the UK.