The borewell doctor of Gadag: Sikandar Meeranaik’s fight against drought
Sikandar Meeranaik, a social worker from drought-prone Kotumachagi village near Gadag, has become a known name in northern Karnataka for reviving water bodies. He has rejuvenated nearly 200 lakes and 3,000 defunct borewells across Gadag district.
An expert in recharging dead borewells, Meeranaik has now taken his model to Koppal, Raichur, Bengaluru North and other districts after seeing success at home. He and his team recently began work on 150 lakes in Mundargi and nearby villages following requests from residents. Work on 130 of those lakes is expected to be completed by this month-end.
Born and raised in Kotumachagi, Meeranaik grew up watching lakes dry up and villagers walking 4 km for water. After a bachelor’s degree in social work, he worked 18 months with a government water conservation agency in Haveri, then joined a rainwater harvesting organisation in Bengaluru. There he met Deshpande Foundation CEO Naveen Jha in Hubballi. That meeting changed his path. Jha encouraged him and backed his early work.
Meeranaik started his NGO, Sankalpa Rural Development Society, in 2008 with 25 people now on the team. He began with a ₹30,000 seed grant from Deshpande Foundation, bought a second-hand motorcycle and raised ₹2 lakh from industrial CSR funds. He initially worked alone. Support from Infosys for a larger project let him hire staff and expand operations.
