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Just 25, This Brave Soul Has Rescued 300+ People From Devastating Maharashtra...
Harsh Gawali broke down on the devastating night of 30 July as he safely deported a new mother to a Chiplun hospital in Maharashtra. The woman had just delivered a baby on the terrace so Harsh had to...
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They Said Women Can’t Farm; I Proved Them Wrong By Earning Rs 30L/Yr Through...
“I was told that a lady cannot farm, so I will never succeed. I wanted to prove them wrong,” says Sangita Pingale, a farmer from Matori village in Nashik. “In 2004, I lost my second child due to birth...
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At a Pune Factory, 6,000 Tonnes of ‘Ghost Nets’ Are Being Turned Into Surfing...
I recently watched a Netflix documentary Seaspiracy, which emphasised the much-ignored problem of plastic waste caused due to fishing nets. It was terrifying to learn that the great Pacific garbage...
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From 18 to 100 Tonnes of Grapes: How an Initiative Helped this Nashik Farmer...
This article has been published in partnership with Bayer “Farming is a noble profession. But it is plagued by the stereotype that farmers are poor and struggle to survive. This is true to a certain...
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Engineer Helps Villages Become Drought-Free & Save 165 Crore Litres Water
In 2013, Maharashtra experienced one of the worst droughts in 40 years. Villages such as Shelkewadi, Randulabad, Satichiwadi, Muthalane, Phalakewadi and Thapewadi, faced a severe crisis as they fell in...
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Couple Uses 700-YO Method to Build Unique 2-Floor Mud Home In Just Rs 4 Lakh
When Pune-based couple, Yuga Akhare and Sagar Shirude decided to construct a sustainable farmhouse from bamboo and mud, they were advised against it. The villagers of Wagheshwar near Lonavala,...
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Award-Winning Farmer Develops Elongated ‘King Berry’ Grape That Sells for Rs...
Developing new grape varieties has become a common practice among farmers of the grape growing belt in Maharashtra. Over the years, varieties from the Vitis Vinifera have attracted the attention of...
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Despite Theft & Vandalism, Dedicated Farmer Grows Pearls To Earn Rs 22 Lakh/Year
Sanjay Gandate from Pardi Kupi village has turned his childlike curiosity into a passion and is earning lakhs from it. The Maharashtra resident spent most of his childhood along the banks of river...
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‘I Don’t Fear Death’: Hero Street Vendor Who Risked His Life to Save Over 150...
“You reach the corner of the bridge and ask around for me. Someone will guide you to my home,” Rajesh Kachi confidently informs me over the phone. To no surprise, a stranger guided me to his two-room...
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Engineer’s Innovative Air Filter Boosts Bike Mileage, Bags Rs 90 Lakh in Funding
Like many college students during his graduation, Mayur Patil from Nashik struggled to save money. One of the major pain points for him was the two-stroke fuel-guzzling motorcycle. But addressing this...
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Despite Cyclones & Droughts, I Helped my Husband Repay a Rs 23L Debt With...
Deteriorating financial conditions, debilitating drought, and erratic weather conditions had almost forced the Pawar family to sell off their 8-acre grape vineyard in Nashik to survive. The debt-ridden...
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Rescued by Football, Ex-Alcohol Addict Gives Back to Society In Most...
Seeing the blood flow out of his mother’s head, a 17-year-old Pankaj Mahajan cried incessantly. Because of his inebriation, he sat there helpless instead of calling an ambulance. “Had it not been for...
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A Punekar’s Ode to the Man Behind the Iconic Vaishali Restaurant
In 2007, a friend of mine suggested we meet for breakfast. I was fairly new in town at the time, and lived around 25 km away from the place he had suggested – Vaishali. This was the era of 2G internet,...
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Meet the IPS Officer Breaking Stereotypes as India’s Only Woman Commissioner...
Standing in the gynaecology ward of the Institute of Medical Sciences BHU, a freshly graduated Dr Arti Singh tried to understand the bizarre question new mothers asked right after delivering their...
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Engineer Leaves City Behind, Builds Eco-Friendly Home in Village for Just Rs...
Most people dream of settling in metro cities due to the facilities available there. But a few like Narendra Pitale choose to live a peaceful life in a village with limited resources despite knowing...
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Halwa Dagine on Sankranti: Pune Shop Makes The Most Stunning Sugar Jewellery
Anjali Atul Padhye remembers sitting with several tiny white sugar beads in her lap while gazing fondly at her mother as she intricately weaved the beads into jewellery. A 13-year-old Anjali was...
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He Once Sold Mangoes To Support His Family; Now Employs 70000 Rural Youths
It’s very unlikely that you haven’t come across at least one employee dressed in BVG India Ltd’s telltale dark blue uniform. The Bharat Vikas Group has its presence across 850 companies and areas,...
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Exclusive: Shark Tank India’s Jugadu Kamlesh Won Rs 10 Lakh With a ‘Filmy’ Pitch
Kamlesh Nanasaheb Ghumare from Devarpada village in Malegaon looked at pitching his unconventional innovation on Shark Tank as a second chance to revisit his acting passion. The last time he came to...
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Man Turns Terrace In City Home Into a Lush Vineyard, Harvests 250 Kilos of...
Bhausaheb Kanchan is a Maharashtra-based farmer who owns a 3-acre ancestral plot Uruli Kanchan. Here, he has planted fruit bearing trees such as coconut, jamun, gooseberry, custard apple, tamarind,...
View ArticleLibrarian Learns to Grow 200+ Varieties of Veggies on His Terrace via Facebook
Social media platforms help us connect with our friends and keep up with the trends. But for Dr Ganesh Kulkarni from Aurangabad, Facebook is also a platform for learning. Dr Ganesh, the 41-year-old...
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At Just Rs 10, This Unisex Urine Bag Is Your Answer to Long Road Trips
Holding your urine for too long can weaken the bladder muscles over time. It can also lead to problems such as incontinence and, in the long run. not being able to fully empty your bladder. It can also...
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Artist Uses Lime, Mud & Recycled Items to Create Art Village With Its Own...
When JJ School of Arts alumni Ganga Kadakia could not find a perfect green oasis to unwind, she decided to create one. A globetrotter by nature and an artist by profession, her art has taken her to...
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After Son’s Diagnosis, Couple Dedicates A Lifetime To Care For 500 Disabled...
When Sulochana and Niraj Beru’s son was diagnosed with an intellectual disability in 1969, they experienced first-hand the tribulations of caregiving. It was a time when the stigma around mental health...
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Duo’s Eco-Friendly Cleaners in Biodegradable Capsules Prevent Tonnes of...
An outsider visiting Mumbai for the first time has a long listicle of places to see. Among the most popular of them is Juhu beach. It was the same for Sumit Goyal, who hails from the deserts of rural...
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After Friend’s Death He Quit IIM Dream to Start Eye Donation Centres & Help...
Swapnil Gawande, founder of Deesha International Eye Banks, was all of 10 when he lost his close friend Abdul to dengue in 2006. Swapnil always wished to find a way to help Abdul see, who was born...
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Mumbaikar Helps 220 Housing Societies Cut Waste by 70%, Earn Money From...
Mumbai-based Kedar Sohoni’s decision to focus on his health has been good in more ways than one. A step he took towards living a clean and sustainable lifestyle has led to hundreds of societies across...
View ArticleDon’t Run That Red Light! Maharashtra’s ‘Helmet Guy’ Has a Fun Fix For...
Maharashtra-based YouTuber Subodh Sunanda Bapu Londhe has a fun way to break the monotony of traffic jams — dance. Since February 2021, he has been using entertainment for his awareness campaign to...
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Saving 165 Crore Litres Of Water, Engineer Helps 26 Villages Become Drought-Free
Maharashtra’s Chalisgaon taluka is one of the many drought-prone areas of the state. It’s privy to several bouts of water shortage, threatening the livelihoods of thousands of farmers. Drought...
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E-Rickshaws to Alcohol Stoves: This Padma Awardee Left the US to Help India...
Dr Anil Kumar Rajvanshi, the man credited for having developed the electric rickshaw and other innovations, was awarded the Padma Shri earlier this year. A staunch Gandhian, Dr Anil decided to return...
View ArticleWhy an Engineering Student is Paying People to Talk to Him on the Streets of...
Every evening between 6 pm and 11 pm, Raj Dagwar walks on the streets of Fergusson College road. Unlike other visitors of this hotspot in Pune, the 23-year-old engineering student roams around with a...
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Despite Acute Water Shortage, Farmers Innovate & Earn Lakhs Growing Roses
To the rest of the world, the rose is a symbol of love, beauty and courage. But to residents of Wadji village, located in Maharashtra’s Solapur district, it’s a representation of their success, despite...
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After Contracting UTI, Woman Innovates Spray that Prevents Infection & Saves...
When Divya Rathod woke up with a sharp pain in her stomach and uterus one 2014 morning, she assumed it was her period. She ignored the pain and carried on, even as it got worse over the next few days....
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Farmer Uses RO Plant to Turn Saline Land into Organic Farm, Earns Rs 4 Lakh...
My discussions over a phone call with Rahul Rasal from Nighoj village in Maharashtra about his farming successes made me realise how close a relationship a farmer shares with the soil. He knows the...
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219 Apartments in Pune Society Invested to Cut Power Bill from Rs 1 Lakh to...
Around six years ago, the residents of MSR-Olive Co-Op Housing Society Ltd in Dattanagar, Pune, were spending close to Rs 1.6 lakh per month. The housing society, which has 216 flats spread across...
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Biotoilets to Borewells: How One Mumbaikar Is Helping 2500 Warli Tribal Families
For Cassandra Nazareth, a social mentor from Mumbai, her passion is deeply rooted in working with the tribal communities in and around the city. This is reflected in the work she has done for their...
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IAS Officer Converts Dumpyard Into City’s Green Lungs With 60,000 Trees in...
If you happened to visit this particular site in Kopar Khairane of Navi Mumbai anytime before 2021, you wouldn’t be able to breathe without taking in the stench of the dumping ground. Cut to 2022, the...
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Unsung Pune Factory Behind the Handmade Paper on Which India’s Constitution...
Despite living in Pune for 10 years I didn’t know that a small factory located in the heart of the city at Shivajinagar called Handmade Paper Institute (HMPI) has been making paper without using wood...
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With Rs 2000 & Tasty Home Food for Those Away from Home, Woman Grows Biz to...
“A woman working from home is always perceived as a homemaker. It is only when she steps beyond her doorstep and achieves something society deems ‘significant’ that her hard work is recognised and...
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Engineer Couple Builds All-In-One ‘Electric Bull’ To Solve Their Village’s...
When India locked down due to the pandemic, couple Tukaram Sonawane and Sonali Veljali returned from Pune to Andarsul village, their native town, for the first time in 14 years. And here’s how that...
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Unable to Complete His Schooling, He Built a School to Educate 60000 Poor Kids
Babasaheb Keshav Narayanrao Deshmukh was born to a family of zamindars. The person designated as a zamindar controlled massive stretches of land, often owning it as a ‘prize’. Babasaheb’s father, a...
View ArticleDelivery Executive’s Quick Thinking Saves 12-YO School Girl From Horrific Injury
Timely help is what saved a 12-year-old girl on 1 July. The girl was playing near the gate of Vasant Vihar Municipal School in Thane, Maharashtra, where she studies when a metal portion of the gate...
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10 Best Monsoon Treks in Maharashtra To Discover Breathtaking Views
If you are a trekking enthusiast, then the rains create the perfect atmosphere for new adventures. The beauty of the rich flora and breathtaking views is amplified during the monsoon. And the Western...
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IPS Officer’s Award-Winning Model Helps Lakhs in Naxal-Affected Areas Avail...
Until 2018, Ankita Lokesh Borkar, a resident of Gadchiroli, worked in a rice mill in her small village of Armori. Her monthly salary was just Rs 5,000, she recalls. Today, however, her life looks...
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How 7 Generations of Sitarmakers Started Making Instruments for India’s Top...
Miraj is India’s ancient city of musical instruments. Located in the southern part of Maharashtra, the historic town has been the centre of classical music for over 150 years. Watch this video know...
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Duo Use 16,000 Plastic Bottles to Build Eco-Friendly Home That Stays...
This article has been sponsored by Wingify Earth. India produces 3.5 million tonnes of plastic annually, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only led to a surge in plastic production from FMCG markets,...
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The Making of Maharashtra’s Unique ‘Sugar Jewellery’, a Generational Heirloom
In Maharashtra, newlyweds are often seen flaunting white jewellery on black traditional clothes on their first Makar Sankranti festival together. While these jewellery pieces look like they’re made...
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Researcher’s Bio Alternatives to Fertilisers & Pesticides Help 10000 Farmers...
Even after spraying pesticides multiple times on her kapas (cotton) crop, Maharashtra’s Anuja Deshmukh could not get a good yield. “Sucking pests like mealy bugs and aphids attacked the cotton crop...
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English Teacher From Rural Maharashtra Shares How She Won the Fulbright...
Madhura Rajvanshi grew up in Phaltan, a small town in Maharashtra. After completing her BSc in Botany in Pune, she returned to her hometown to find her calling in life. Like many, what she studied...
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Mocked For Growing Strawberries, Tribal Farmer Goes From Earning Rs 4000 to...
Located nearly 90 km from Pune, the tribal hamlet of Kopre in Junnar is struggling with the depletion of its natural water reserves. The residents now rely on water tankers to fulfil their daily water...
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This Incredible Innovation Changed How Women Fetch Water in a Village — 8...
The day-to-day life of Lakshmibai Neel from Porgaon village in Aurangabad was full of tedious household chores. The homemaker of a family of six, she’d get to work right from daybreak and would only...
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