Use waste water for irrigation in Punjab, says expert

Avneet Kaur

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Jalandhar, April 22

As World Earth Day is being celebrated across the globe, experts have turned their focus on the theme ‘Invest in Our Planet’. They have urged everyone to take action towards environmental conservation and sustainability. This year’s theme includes five feature programmes — sustainable fashion, the great global cleanup, the canopy project, climate and environmental literacy and food and environment — along with the global earth challenge.

Each programme is aimed at bringing awareness so that people can contribute towards environment protection. Sustainable fashion is a crucial aspect of environmental conservation, focusing on creating environmentally friendly and sustainable clothing. The great global cleanup aims to clean up the environment and preserve it for future generations. The canopy project focuses on planting trees, which absorb carbon dioxide and purify the air. Climate and environmental literacy aim to educate individuals on the importance of taking care of the environment and understanding the impact of their actions. The food and environment and global earth challenge encourage people to adopt sustainable food practices.

Lupinder Kumar, Water and Soil Conservation Officer, Jalandhar, emphasised the need to utilise wastewater in agriculture, as the agriculture sector in the state is facing several critical concerns, with groundwater depletion being the most significant. “The state now has the largest number and percentage of dark blocks in the country. The groundwater table has been continuously declining, with aquifer depletion rates currently in the range of 0.7 to 1.2 metre per year,” he added. He said there was almost no scope for further augmentation of surface water resources, thus creating alternate sources of irrigation water was crucial. The abundant volume of wastewater available in the state provided an opportunity for this purpose.

“One silver lining is the abundant volume of wastewater available in the state. The highest per capita water availability, along with a host of other factors, has increased the generation of wastewater manifold during the last few decades. Around 2,500 MLD of wastewater is being generated in Tier I and II cities and towns, besides the vast amount of wastewater generated and collected in village ponds of 12,000 villages across the state,” said Kumar.

He added that by carefully-controlled irrigation, for example, the wastewater from a population of 5,000 with a water consumption of 120-litre per day per person (in rural Punjab, it is more than 250-litre per day per person) could irrigate an area of about 300 acres of agricultural land all year round. Then wastewater could also reduce the consumption of fertilisers as it was rich in nutrient contents required for crop growth.

Meenakshi Singh, a social activist, noted that the celebration of World Earth Day reminds us of our role in protecting the planet. She stressed the importance of individual actions, such as planting trees, reducing plastic use and adopting sustainable food practices, to contribute to environmental conservation. She added that all of us could play a crucial role in environmental conservation and every small action counted towards making a difference.