Kaamegowd
Meet The 84 YO Who Single-Handedly Dug 16 Ponds, Ending His Village’s Water Issues
“I want to continue digging ponds no matter how old I get,” says the inspiring crusader who treats the ponds like his family members.
The 84-year-old Kamegowda shot to fame after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his monthly 66th edition of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on All India Radio lauded his efforts and called him ‘Water Warrior’ on June 28, 2020. He was also conferred the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award in November 2018.
Octogenarian Kalmane Kamegowda, popularly known as Kere Kamegowda or Pond Man, who single-handedly built more than 17 ponds in the barren hills of Kundinibetta near his village Dasanadoddi at Malavalli taluk in Mandya District, died due to age-related ailments at his house on Monday.
Overview
- The shepherd and small-time farmer from Daasanadoddi, a village in Karnataka’s Mandya district, has single-handedly dug as many as sixteen ponds in and around his village. It is thanks to this very effort and hard work, that the hamlet has not faced a water crisis in the last four decades.
- he shepherd and small-time farmer from Daasanadoddi, a village in Karnataka’s Mandya district, has single-handedly dug as many as sixteen ponds in and around his village. It is thanks to this very effort and hard work, that the hamlet has not faced a water crisis in the last four decades.
- Recently, Kaamegowda earned praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Mann Ki Baat radio programme. “Kaamegowda ji is an ordinary farmer, albeit possessing an extraordinary personality. He has achieved a personal feat that will leave anyone awestruck,” the PM shared during the show.
- But Karnataka’s ‘Lake Man’ is quite unfazed at his sudden stardom and overwhelming popularity. Having chosen to stay away from the spotlight all his life, this octogenarian is patiently continuing his life mission to dig more ponds and lakes.
