Restored stretch of the Kham River • Aurangabad • April 2025
In a city quite different from Bengaluru, a river began to breathe again.
Aurangabad may not be known for active citizen movements, scientific institutions, innovators or the scale of CSR funding that Bengaluru sees. But when viral videos of a cleaned-up river flowing through the city began circulating, it caught our attention.
What Took Us to Kham
Bengaluru has no shortage of initiatives to revive its water systems – large public STPs, decentralised treatment plants, citizen-led solid waste efforts, and lake and well restorations. Many organisations and not-for-profits including Paani Earth Foundation have been working to map river systems, gather data, and advocate for change.
But despite all this, our rivers remain in distress. Referred to as mori or nala, they are mostly forgotten or seen as drains. That’s why the Kham River’s transformation sparked hope and curiosity.
Visuals of clean river stretches, prompted us to reach out to EcoSattva, one of the driving forces behind Kham’s revival. In April, we spent two days in Aurangabad learning from their efforts, supported by the Municipal Corporation, the Cantonment Board, and Varroc Industries through CSR. We were glad to see the Kham, a seasonal river flowing lean in the summer months without any visible trash.
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The Kham Restoration Model
If we want our rivers to flow clean, the solid and liquid waste needs to be managed at the catchment level. “It’s not rocket science” says Gauri Mirashe, co-founder of EcoSattva Kham’s revival began with a detailed drone study to map the problem – identifying where waste was entering the river and addressing it at source or through treatment. Solid waste traps were installed, untreated sewage rerouted to existing STPs, a modular plant was added, and settling ponds helped
manage minor sewage inflows. When textile waste emerged as a major pollutant, Ecosattva set up a recovery facility to tackle it upstream..
Alongside this, EcoSattva worked across city wards to streamline solid waste collection with the help of Safai Saathis and an MRF centre. Their decade of experience in waste management helped scale up the effort. Their awareness campaign “Takatak”— Marathi for clean and thriving — spread the message that
managing wet, dry, and hazardous waste properly is key to a better city.
Leadership played a crucial role. Then municipal commissioner Astik Pandey didn’t just sign off on the plan — he joined the cleanups and walked the river. On the ground, retired officer Asadullah Khan appointed by Pandey led desilting operations with a five-member team and a JCB. He also repurposed
stones from construction debris to pitch the riverbanks — a low-cost, effective solution.
Citizens were at the heart of it all. They showed up in large numbers for Saturday cleanups and planting drives. Soon, they began referring to the river as aapli Kham (our Kham), a reflection of renewed ownership. EcoSattva built eco-parks in former dump sites and created walking paths along the river using recycled debris — spaces that now encourage people to reconnect and take pride in their river.
What’s Next:
While much of the revival has focused on stretches within Aurangabad city, challenges continue downstream. The Kham flows over 70 km, and the work is far from over. But what stands out is the shift toward seeing and treating the river as a whole.
EcoSattva is now working with 20 villages along the river’s path — signing MoUs with panchayats, improving solid and liquid waste management, building walking paths, and planting native and fruit-bearing trees to strengthen local ownership and livelihoods.
In Narayanpur, one such village, we saw what this looks like on the ground. Villagers proudly showed us a detailed record of recent efforts, while ASHA workers led us through clean streets lined with painted hygiene messages. It was a quiet but powerful reminder — when communities take ownership, change
takes root. Kham Did It. Can Bengaluru?
Kham’s revival happened at just 3% of what many river restoration projects cost. As the EcoSattva team often quotes Jaime Lerner, former mayor of Curitiba: “If you want creativity, cut one zero from the budget. If you want sustainability, cut two.”
So, if budget isn’t the problem — what is?
Bengaluru already has a lot going for it: active citizen groups, committed government officials, and judicial orders that, if implemented, can stop pollution at source. What we need now is not more scattered projects or infrastructure-heavy solutions that don’t address root issues. We need to pause, assess what’s
working, what’s missing, and act with clarity.
And perhaps the most important shift is this: to stop seeing the city as just roads and buildings, and begin recognising it as part of living river systems — the Arkavathi and the Dakshina Pinakini. That perspective
matters.
Kham reminded us that restoration is possible. Many of the elements are already in place for Bengaluru. What’s needed is for them to come together — for our rivers.
That is the hope we carried home.
