Butchers of Sopore and Birmingham

Nine years of calm before icy storm

Kashmir turns crimson with blood of Pandits

AN UN-ISLAMIC KIDNAPPING AND CHAOS IN THE VALLEY

The illusion of azaadi and Kashmir’s historic deception

How Pak's terror policy evolved in Kashmir

Birth of social media jihadists, death of Article-370

Operation Sindoor: When Indian missiles rained on Pak terror parade

<div class='ite_mg_banner ads__container'><div class='it_mg_bnrBox'><div class='ite_bnr_cont'><div class='ite_cont_dtl'> <h4>Get <span class='bold_text'>37%</span> off on an annual Print +Digital subscription of India Today Magazine</h4><a href='https://subscriptions.intoday.in/indiatoday?utm_source=top-web-banner ' class='ite_subscribe_btn origin_conscent_url' target='_blank'>SUBSCRIBE</a></div></div></div></div>

US Election coverage

India

World

NewsMo

Fact Check

Programmes

Match Schedule

Teams

Player Stats

LIVE SCORES

<p><span ><strong>Dholakia Foundation</strong></span>, Amreli, Gujarat</p><p><strong>Key person:</strong> Savjibhai Dholakia, Founder</p><p><strong>Year of inception:</strong> 2008</p><div data-embed-button="ckeditor_image" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:media.image" data-entity-type="media" data-entity-uuid="085e1ab3-b5bd-4bdd-9684-0296915009f3" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"><article class="media media--type-ckeditor-image media--view-mode-image">
  
      
            <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item">  <div class="itgimage"><amp-img  src="https://akm-img-a-in.tosshub.com/indiatoday/styles/medium_crop_simple/public/2026-01/dholakia-2.jpg?VersionId=1ElzDophyivxP.QRkfO747mawCWyePBk&size=750:*&size=750:*" alt = "" height="513" width="770" class="image-style-medium-crop-simple" layout="responsive"></amp-img></div>


</div>
      
  </article>
</div><p>For as long as anyone can remember, Amreli district in Gujarat has had a dry arid landscape. In many areas, water is found 600-700 feet below ground level, and with high levels of TDS (total dissolved solids). Migration for work is commonplace in the mostly agrarian community, which is how, in the 1970s, a few enterprising young men ended up in Surat and started in the diamond trade business, eventually setting up polishing units.</p><p>A few of these diamantaires developed into billionaire industry leaders. One of the biggest is Hari Krishna Exports, led by Savji Dholakia. In 2008, after the global economic crash, Dholakia returned to his village Dudhala in Lathi taluka of Amreli with a resolve to do some good for his native land. Water shortage, of course, was top of the agenda. The only source was monsoon rainwater that flowed down from the seasonal Gagadiyo river, a tributary of the Shetrunji that flows through the region. That water usually dries up by Diwali (October).</p><p>Dholakia decided to use his company’s CSR funds and create a 22-acre pond in the Gagadiyo riverbed, dredging and building check dams to store the monsoon water. They called it the Amrut Sarovar and it was soon a success. “Dudhala was also developed as a model village using the foundation’s CSR funds,” says Dholakia. The foundation recommended to the state government that they construct similar ponds in every village to store rainwater, as bringing Narmada Dam water to Saurashtra in pipelines through the SAUNI scheme was costing a bomb. But nothing came of it.</p><p>For the next eight years, a dozen villages in the region requested Dholakia to construct similar ponds for their villages. Finally, in 2017, Savjibhai decided to go back and take it up in earnest. The first project was Hari Krishna Sarovar, created at a meeting point between three villages, and spread over 120 acres. The soil dredged out was used to create a garden nearby, which has since become a popular picnic spot for villagers. The three villages, with some 50,000 residents, have now become so self-sufficient that they do not need government water at all.</p><p>Buoyed by this success, Dholakia decided to divert 10 per cent of his personal wealth to the foundation to build 100 such ponds, of which 75 are ready. From Chamardi village to Krankach, a span of 52.9 km are now lined with 149 check dams. The land surrounding the river has roads lined by fruit trees on each side.</p><div data-embed-button="ckeditor_image" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:media.image" data-entity-type="media" data-entity-uuid="2098b700-b057-4735-a069-365d627c455f" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"><article class="media media--type-ckeditor-image media--view-mode-image">
  
      
            <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item">  <div class="itgimage"><amp-img  src="https://akm-img-a-in.tosshub.com/indiatoday/styles/medium_crop_simple/public/2026-01/dholakia-3.jpg?VersionId=p1MWH_ikeR6po_veOh_RTzeYsw3sGz2l&size=750:*&size=750:*" alt = "" height="839" width="770" class="image-style-medium-crop-simple" layout="responsive"></amp-img></div>


</div>
      
  </article>
</div><p>In Amreli’s arid landscape, this region has transformed into a green oasis. The birds have returned and aquatic life is thriving. In the past eight years, water tables have risen to 15 feet (from 600 feet in the past) in some areas. Best of all, farmers now take three harvests a year. “We have infused no new source of water; this is simply from harvested rainwater,” says Dholakia, adding that 75 villages currently benefit from the changed ecology.</p><p>The state government has now taken note and has requested the Dholakia Foundation to create similar ponds on a cost-sharing basis in the semi-arid river basins in Siddhpur taluka in north Gujarat.</p><div id="lrcmtcont"></div><div class="end_story">- Ends</div><div class="dottedimg"></div><div class="authors__container"><div class="authors__by"><div class="authlable">Published By: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Shyam Balasubramanian</div></div><div class="published__on"><div class="authlable">Published On: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Jan 24, 2026 21:19 IST</div></div></div>

Gems of India | Republic Day Special

<p><span style="color:#c0392b;"><strong>Dholakia Foundation</strong></span>, Amreli, Gujarat</p><p><strong>Key person:</strong> Savjibhai Dholakia, Founder</p><p><strong>Year of inception:</strong> 2008</p><div data-embed-button="ckeditor_image" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:media.image" data-entity-type="media" data-entity-uuid="085e1ab3-b5bd-4bdd-9684-0296915009f3" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"><article class="media media--type-ckeditor-image media--view-mode-image">
  
      
            <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item">  <div class="itgimage"><img  height="513"  title=""  width="770"  class="image-style-medium-crop-simple" alt="" src="https://akm-img-a-in.tosshub.com/indiatoday/styles/medium_crop_simple/public/2026-01/dholakia-2.jpg?VersionId=1ElzDophyivxP.QRkfO747mawCWyePBk&size=750:*" loading="lazy" /></div>


</div>
      
  </article>
</div><p>For as long as anyone can remember, Amreli district in Gujarat has had a dry arid landscape. In many areas, water is found 600-700 feet below ground level, and with high levels of TDS (total dissolved solids). Migration for work is commonplace in the mostly agrarian community, which is how, in the 1970s, a few enterprising young men ended up in Surat and started in the diamond trade business, eventually setting up polishing units.</p><p>A few of these diamantaires developed into billionaire industry leaders. One of the biggest is Hari Krishna Exports, led by Savji Dholakia. In 2008, after the global economic crash, Dholakia returned to his village Dudhala in Lathi taluka of Amreli with a resolve to do some good for his native land. Water shortage, of course, was top of the agenda. The only source was monsoon rainwater that flowed down from the seasonal Gagadiyo river, a tributary of the Shetrunji that flows through the region. That water usually dries up by Diwali (October).</p><p>Dholakia decided to use his company’s CSR funds and create a 22-acre pond in the Gagadiyo riverbed, dredging and building check dams to store the monsoon water. They called it the Amrut Sarovar and it was soon a success. “Dudhala was also developed as a model village using the foundation’s CSR funds,” says Dholakia. The foundation recommended to the state government that they construct similar ponds in every village to store rainwater, as bringing Narmada Dam water to Saurashtra in pipelines through the SAUNI scheme was costing a bomb. But nothing came of it.</p><p>For the next eight years, a dozen villages in the region requested Dholakia to construct similar ponds for their villages. Finally, in 2017, Savjibhai decided to go back and take it up in earnest. The first project was Hari Krishna Sarovar, created at a meeting point between three villages, and spread over 120 acres. The soil dredged out was used to create a garden nearby, which has since become a popular picnic spot for villagers. The three villages, with some 50,000 residents, have now become so self-sufficient that they do not need government water at all.</p><p>Buoyed by this success, Dholakia decided to divert 10 per cent of his personal wealth to the foundation to build 100 such ponds, of which 75 are ready. From Chamardi village to Krankach, a span of 52.9 km are now lined with 149 check dams. The land surrounding the river has roads lined by fruit trees on each side.</p><div data-embed-button="ckeditor_image" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:media.image" data-entity-type="media" data-entity-uuid="2098b700-b057-4735-a069-365d627c455f" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"><article class="media media--type-ckeditor-image media--view-mode-image">
  
      
            <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item">  <div class="itgimage"><img  height="839"  title=""  width="770"  class="image-style-medium-crop-simple" alt="" src="https://akm-img-a-in.tosshub.com/indiatoday/styles/medium_crop_simple/public/2026-01/dholakia-3.jpg?VersionId=p1MWH_ikeR6po_veOh_RTzeYsw3sGz2l&size=750:*" loading="lazy" /></div>


</div>
      
  </article>
</div><p>In Amreli’s arid landscape, this region has transformed into a green oasis. The birds have returned and aquatic life is thriving. In the past eight years, water tables have risen to 15 feet (from 600 feet in the past) in some areas. Best of all, farmers now take three harvests a year. “We have infused no new source of water; this is simply from harvested rainwater,” says Dholakia, adding that 75 villages currently benefit from the changed ecology.</p><p>The state government has now taken note and has requested the Dholakia Foundation to create similar ponds on a cost-sharing basis in the semi-arid river basins in Siddhpur taluka in north Gujarat.</p><div id="lrcmtcont"></div><div class="end_story">- Ends</div><div class="dottedimg"></div><div class="authors__container"><div class="authors__by"><div class="authlable">Published By: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Shyam Balasubramanian</div></div><div class="published__on"><div class="authlable">Published On: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Jan 24, 2026 21:19 IST</div></div></div>

Dholakia Foundation's lake rejuvenation efforts in arid Amreli have turned around the lives of parched farmers there

India Today

The water wizard | Dholakia Foundation, Amreli, Gujarat - India Today

The water wizard | Dholakia Foundation, Amreli, Gujarat

Senior Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, in an exclusive interview with India Today, said Pakistan and China worked in tandem to get Iran on board for the ceasefire deal with the US and Israel.

China Iran ceasefire

Was China the key player behind Iran truce? Pak journalist Hamid Mir explains

Samrat Choudhary appears the more probable candidate, but Vijay Kumar Sinha’s impressive performance as deputy CM leaves the game open

vijay kumar sinha

Bihar’s next CM: Why Vijay Kr Sinha is a worthy name in Nitish successor debate

The United States has asked European partners to present detailed plans within days on how they intend to help secure navigation through the Strait of Hormuz once fighting stops.

The request was raised during high-level discussions at the White House.

Trump gives ultimatum to European allies to provide support to secure Hormuz

The Trinamool Congress mocks that Amit Shah could stay for “365 days” if he wanted, but it would do little to improve the BJP’s fortunes in Bengal

Amit Shah

Why Amit Shah’s ‘15 days’ in Bengal is more about perception than duration

A video showing a soulful performance of a man inside a Mumbai local has gone viral. Only after a few seconds into the video one realises that the man is visually impaired.

flute player

Blind musician serenades Mumbai local with soulful flute performance

Play Time!

Elections 2026

US-Israel-Iran War

Donald Trump

PM Modi

IPL 2026

Iran

Strait of Hormuz

Dhurandhar 2

Israel

Middle East

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma lost his cool when India Today's sister channel, The Lallantop's reporter questioned him over the use of abusive language by him.

Questioned over abusive language, Himanta Biswa Sarma snaps at Lallantop reporter

In an exclusive interview with India Today, senior parliamentarian and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor discussed the US-Iran ceasefire, Pakistan's role in mediation and much more.

Peace in Iran is in our interest, doesn't matter who mediates: Shashi Tharoor

Malayalam actor Mohanlal was one of the early voters in the Keralam Assembly Elections. He was seen standing in the queue to cast his vote.

Mohanlal keralam vote

Video: Mohanlal queues up at polling booth, casts his vote in Keralam election

In an exclusive interview with India Today, former NATO deputy commander General Sir Richard Shirreff called the ceasefire between the United States and Iran the greatest strategic disaster for America since the Vietnam war.

Greatest strategic disaster for US since Vietnam war: Ex-Nato commander on ceasefire

In an exclusive with India Today's Consulting Editor Rajdeep Sardesai, senior journalist Hamid Mir discussed Pakistan's diplomatic role in the recent ceasefire between the United States and Iran and much more. He said Pakistan acted as a 'facilitator' rather than a mediator, given its lack of diplomatic ties with Israel.

Download App

Get 37% off on an annual Print +Digital subscription of India Today Magazine

The water wizard | Dholakia Foundation, Amreli, Gujarat

Dholakia Foundation's lake rejuvenation efforts in arid Amreli have turned around the lives of parched farmers there

PUBLICATIONS

TELEVISION

EVENTS

RADIO

GAMING

USEFUL LINKS

PRINTING

WELFARE

DISTRIBUTION

SYNDICATIONS

WEBSITES

EDUCATION