Soreng, May 09 (IPR): A meeting to formulate and construct a concrete proposal for the activities to be done under the Catch the Rain Campaign for Jal Shakti Abhiyan was held at the Office of the Soreng District Collector, today. The meeting was chaired by the DC Shri Bhim Thatal and had the presence of ADC (Dev) Shri Gaayas Pega, SDM (HQ) Shri DR Bista, BDOs and Engineers of all 6 Blocks along with the Officials from the line departments.
Launched by the National Water Mission under Jal Shakti Abhiyan campaign with the theme ‘Catch the Rain, When it falls and where it falls, the campaign focuses primarily on conserving and harvesting rainwater, especially during the pre-monsoon and monsoon period.
With this objective, the DC said that more focus needs to be given to those areas where there is an acute problem of water shortage and limited rainfall even during the monsoon season. He has, therefore, directed the respective BDOs to conceptualize ideas and innovations to maximize the harvesting of rainwater so that the preserved water can be directed towards the drier regions of the district. He also highlighted the concerning issues of water depletion in certain areas. He asked to rationalize the distribution of rainwater collected including their proper storage and usage. He also advised the block level officials to interact with the local community and take into account their ideas that can be helpful while conceptualizing ideas for saving and conserving rainwater.
DC Shri Thatal further instructed the BDOs and concerned officers to initiate activities for intensive water harvesting and water conservation by way of roof-top rainwater harvesting structures (RWHS), and water harvesting pits and to carry out immediately the activities like geo-tagging and making inventories of water bodies, setting up of Jal Shakti Kendra in the district and intensive afforestation and awareness campaigns.
ADC (Dev) Shri Gaayas Pega reiterated the need to prioritize those areas where water can be rejuvenated. He informed about the benefits and advantages of Dhara Vikas Scheme which enables us to revive and maintain the Dhara (spring), the main water source for some of the areas under the district.
The meeting concluded with the resolution to undertake the above activities and also to prepare Scientific Water Conservation Plan to be submitted before May 20, 2022.
