In 1992, during an intense volleyball game, Rajkot-based Mahindrasinh Zala suffered a shot that detached his retinas, causing him to lose 90 percent of his vision.

After six surgeries in Ahmedabad and Rajkot, his vision still didn’t return.

Now 63 years old, the ex-ITI employee has found another passion to direct his energies toward — water harvesting.

For over eight years, he has been saving the water that flows through his building every monsoon.

Seven tanks are distributed across the second-floor terrace, first-floor terrace, and ground floor of the Kothariya colony where he lives.

He collects water during the monsoon and directs it through the pipes he has installed there. He is aided in his work by brother Gajendrasinh, son Yashrajsinh, and nephew Harshdeepsinh.

Once the 3,000-litre second-floor terrace tank fills, the water that overflows goes to two 1,000-litre tanks on the first-floor terrace through pipes. The excess water from there is redirected to a 2,000-litre tank on the ground floor.

There is another tank in the parking area which can also store 1,000 litres of water. For the water overflowing from this tank, there are two filters which ensure the water is clean, pure and usable.

From here, pipes direct the excess water into two ground-level stores; a 3,000-litre tank and a 250-foot-deep bore.

“Through this system, I save a total of one lakh litres of water every year. This is used throughout the year,” says Zala.

“This also saves electricity,” adds his daughter-in-law Asha, “since we don’t put on the water motor,” instead using the saved water for their needs.

Zala’s project was inspired by the water scarcity he noticed early on. “If we don’t save water then the next generation will have to drink tears instead of water,” he says and raises the question, “If we can open accounts and save money, can’t we also save water for our kids?”

Zala has invested Rs 25,000 to set up the project. “I only have 10 percent light in my eyes and I can do this. You are all healthy, you should definitely take this up,” he urges. “I don’t even need recognition. Just practice water harvesting… for me, there’s no greater reward than that,” he adds.