Reviving Rajasthan: Community Ponds Breathe Life Into Sambhar Lake Region

Just 80 kilometers from the pink-hued sprawl of Jaipur lies Sambhar Lake, a silvery expanse that stretches across the horizon — India's largest inland saltwater lake.

- SWAPNA SARITA MOHANTY

Known to travelers for its flamingos, surreal salt flats, and haunting sunsets, the lake has long held a quiet allure. But venture just a little off the beaten track, beyond the birdwatchers and Instagrammers, and you'll discover something even more remarkable: a grassroots water revolution unfolding in the dry heart of Rajasthan.

In villages like Nosal and Jhakholai, near Roopangarh in Ajmer district, a quiet transformation is reshaping both the landscape and the lives of the people who call it home. Here, community-built ponds are not just water sources — they are lifelines, stories of return, resilience, and regeneration.

The Pond That Brought A Family Home
Step into Nosal, and the arid silence is interrupted by the rustle of crops, the lowing of livestock, and the laughter of children. It wasn't always this way. Just over a decade ago, fields lay barren, groundwater was saline, and entire families had left in search of better livelihoods.

That's when Manthan Sanstha, a local nonprofit rooted in nearby Kotri village, stepped in with a simple yet powerful solution: a rain-fed pond capable of storing 1 crore liters of water. That single water body rewrote the future of the village.