A beacon to follow

Bhavarlal Jain, the founder of Jain Irrigation passed on yesterday. In many ways, he was the one who introduced India to drip irrigation on a mass scale, helping many farms and farmers survive. It would be no exaggeration to say that he was the one who put the small, nondescript town on Jalgaon on Maharashtra on the world map.

His life is one of inspiration.  Despite a law degree, he pursued a career in agriculture at the age of 23. It was in 1980 that he struck on the idea of making PVC pipes and in 1987-88, set up a Public Corporation – the first of its kind in the private sector in the Khandesh region – for production, promotion and propagation of drip irrigation in the country. He purchased a piece of land that was lying between the hill and the Jalgaon – Pachora road. The revenue classification of the land was less than that of degraded land. He converted this land into cultivable land, now recognised as the Jain Hills going on to pioneer micro irrigation.  'Grand Nain'- a tissue cultured banana variety introduced by him has emerged as the leading variety with banana farmers in Maharashtra.

Influenced by Gandhian philosophies, he was a strict vegetarian and believed in giving back to the society. He set up the school – Anubhuti and this school is different in the sense that the classrooms combine book knowledge with experiential project work. He was done tremendous amount of work in education and rural development. Known as “bhau” he will remain a beacon for many to follow.