Sanjay Tidke, a 42-year-old farmer from a small village in Maharashtra's Akola district is on a mission to build a dam, which will end the water crisis for him and his village. And how is he doing it? Tidke, who along with his brother owned 30 acres in Sangvi Durgwada village in Murtizapur, sold 10 acres for Rs 55 lakh. The dam which is being built at a cost of Rs 20 lakhs has a storage capacity of 3 crore litres.

The dam which is being built at a cost of Rs 20 lakhs has a storage capacity of 3 crore litres.

Tidke, who grows soyabean and cotton in his fields, said he took the step because people from the village were getting little help from the government.

He said even on the construction of the dam there was hardly any support from the government other than the agriculture department, which helped Tidke with expertise on how and which type of dam to construct.

On the contrary, Tidke said government officials were harassing him over the sand he was using for the project and filed complaints against him for allegedly buying sand illegally.

After the construction began in March and the news about it spread, Tidke said many farmers groups have approached him and pledged support.

The construction is expected to be completed in the next 2 weeks and will be ready to hold water from this monsoon.