School Dropout Brings Water to 1,800 Acres in Rajasthan

When drought struck Laporiya, Rajasthan in 1977, 17-year-old Laxman Singh made a choice that would change thousands of lives. He dropped out of school and walked to a bund that hadn't held water in three decades.

Singh convinced a friend and a village priest to help him repair it. As they worked, neighbors joined in, and within weeks, about 20 villagers were restoring the abandoned structure together.

Two months later, rainwater filled the repaired bund. By 1984, what became known as Anna Sagar was irrigating 1,800 acres of farmland.

But Singh saw a bigger problem. Laporiya depended on livestock, and the village's common grazing land had turned barren without water.

He developed something called the Chauka system: square earthen sections that capture rainwater across pastureland. When one section fills, water flows to the next, slowing runoff and soaking into the soil instead of rushing away.

The slower water recharged groundwater and brought the grasslands back to life. Better pasture meant healthier livestock, which supported dairy incomes and provided natural fertilizer for crops.

The village revived more water bodies: Phool Sagar and Dev Sagar joined Anna Sagar. Together with the Chaukas, they helped Laporiya hold onto rainwater and refill underground aquifers.

Farmers could suddenly grow crops in both rainy and dry seasons. Families who had once fled during droughts could stay and thrive.

The Ripple Effect

Singh founded Gramin Vikas Navyuvak Mandal Laporiya to organize conservation work beyond his village. The Chauka model has since spread to dozens of communities across Rajasthan, connecting water harvesting, pasture restoration and rural livelihoods into one system that villages can lead themselves.

In 2023, the Indian government awarded Singh the Padma Shri, one of the country's highest civilian honors, for his contribution to social work.

A teenager who left school during a crisis built a solution that outlasted the drought by nearly 50 years.