Make Jal Shakti Abhiyan a mass drive, says Central team

Tribune News Service

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Jalandhar, July 11

A high-powered Central team on Thursday advocated the need for making ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan’ a mass campaign to check the depleting groundwater level in the district.

The team, headed by Rajinder Kumar Kashyap, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice, discussed with officials of the district administration, led by Additional Deputy Commissioner Kulwant Singh, who was officiating as the Deputy Commissioner, Jalandhar.

Chairing the meeting at the District Administrative Complex, the Joint Secretary said the abhiyan had been started in 255 water-stressed districts of the country. He said the team was visiting Jalandhar as it was one of the water-stressed districts in the country with 10 out of the total 11 blocks being over-exploited. Kashyap said the first phase of the abhiyaan had started from July 1 and would on till September 15.

The Joint Secretary said during the current visit, the team, led by him, would visit many areas in the next two days to assess the ground-level situation. Kashyap said besides analysing the entire situation, focus would be on inspecting the works done by the district administration in this regard. He said new suggestions would be given by the team for water conservation and recharging the ground water level through a concrete action plan.

The Joint Secretary said later the team would again visit the district in the months of August and September. Kashyap said the team would intervene on five main coordinators, including the evaluation of water conservation and rainwater harvesting, renovation of traditional water bodies and tanks, watershed development, recharging groundwater through rainwater harvesting and intensive afforestation.

He said every department of the state government must actively participate in the campaign and make it a huge success to ensure that our coming generations were able to get fresh water for drinking.

On the occasion, the Additional Deputy Commissioner assured the team of full support and cooperation for accomplishing this task. He said every department of the state government would ensure that this much-needed campaign of immense importance was a huge success in Jalandhar.

Other members of the team, including Director Defence PC Gupta, Director Ministry of Consumer Affairs PK Bhatnagar, Scientists of Water Resources Ministry Ravi Aggarwal and Me PSK Murthy, Sub-Divisional Magistrates Rajesh Sharma, Charumita and Shayari Malhotra, Divisional Forest Officer Rajesh Gulati, Divisional Range Forest Officer Davinder Pal Singh, Executive Engineers Water Supply and Sewerage Board Vijay Kumar and SS Dhaliwal, District Development and Panchayat Officer Dharam Pal, Director Krishi Vigyan Kendra Dr Kuldeep Singh, Deputy Director Animal Husbandary Ram Lubhaya, Executive Engineer Drainage Ajit Singh, Soil Conservation Officer Lupinder Singh, besides others were present.

Abhiyan under way in 255 districts

Chairing the meeting at the District Administrative Complex, Rajinder Kumar Kashyap, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice, said the abhiyaan had been started in 255 water-stressed districts of the country. He said the team was visiting Jalandhar as it was one of the water-stressed districts in the country with 10 out of the total 11 blocks being over-exploited. Kashyap said the first phase of the abhiyaan had started from July 1 and would on till September 15.