Block Nodal Officer Dr. Ishita G. Tripathi and Scientist Dr. Manish Gupta, members of central team appointed under Jal Shakti Abhiyan, held a meeting with officials of district administration Barnala and visited several places to review the situation on Saturday. Speaking on this occasion, Dr. Ishita G. Tripathi said that the level of groundwater is being constantly depleting which has become a major concern for the Northern states and it is needed to be dealt with utmost sincerity.Block Nodal Officer Dr. Ishita G Tripathi said that to common people should be make aware of this serious issue as they should start doing activities for water consevation. She said that besides this, the administration should to ensure installation of rain water harvesting projects on the rooftops of schools, offices and other institutions. She added that special ponds for rain water harvesting should also be developed so that the rain water could be used for agriculture and other purposes. She also suggested that bore-wells should be dug at the suitable places for rain water harvesting and it should be ensured that only uncontaminated water reach in these bore-wells.
She also advised that the use of canal water should be encouraged for agricultural purposes to save ground water and timely cleaning and repair of rivers, drains and other water channels should be done.Scientist Dr. Manish Gupta said that spreading awareness to conserve water would be the most impactful aspect of water conservation as a big share of drinking water was being wasted. He said that for plantation, low water consuming and native varieties of saplings should be encouraged.Deputy Commissioner Mr. Tej Partap Singh Phoolka directed the officials present in the meeting to speed up efforts to achieve targets under the Jal Shakti Abhiyan within time limit. He said that special teams would also be set up to monitor the work being done under the campaign.On this occasion, Additional Deputy Commissioner (G) Ruhee Dugg, ADC (D) Parveen Kumar, SDM Barnala Sandeep Kumar, SDM Karandeep Singh, Assistant Commissioner Dr. Karamjit Singh, EO Barnala Parvinder Singh Bhatti, Assistant Director Vijay Bhaskar, SDO Aushpreet Singh, District Education Officer (Secondary) Rajwant Kaur, Tehsildar Harbans Singh among several other officers were also present.