Water finally makes an appearance from the Koteshwari river bed as villagers of Shirshinge hamlet excavate. They hope to revive the river in phases.

About 300 km from Mumbai, villagers of Shirshinge, a hamlet in Dapoli taluka of Ratnagiri district, have done what the state government failed to do 15 years ago. They came together on Wednesday morning determined to bring to life the three-km-long Koteshwari river that runs dry for five months of the year.