Assam: NEHARI Brahmaputra Board conducts workshop on springshed management

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Under the dynamic leadership of Ranbir Singh, Chairman, Brahmaputra Board, the North Eastern Hydraulic and Allied Research Institute (NEHARI) conducted a five-day training workshop on ‘Springshed Management’ in association with the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH) and Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) during June 2–6, 2024.

Diminishing springs in the north-eastern hills pose huge challenges to ensuring water security in the region. To achieve the overarching goal of ensuring water supply to each household in mountainous regions, springshed management programmes have become the need of the hour. Following the recommendations of NITI Ayog on capacity building of state agencies for springshed rejuvenation programmes while keeping the importance of these water pygmies in ew, the Ministry o of Jal Shakti and the Government of India have initiated various activities on springshed management in the north-eastern region.

The training workshop was inaugurated on June 2, 2024, by Er. Ranjit Deka, Director, NEHARI. In the inaugural address, Biplab Ray, Scientist CGWB, stressed the need for springshed management in the north-eastern states while discussing the efforts of NIH and CGWB towards addressing the issues of diminishing springs across the Indian Himalayas. Basanta Kr Deka, Chief Engineer, Brahmaputra Board, also delivered an important talk, shared his experience, and guided the participants.

The course of the programme is tailored for junior to mid-level officers of government departments related to the land and water resources sector serving in the north-eastern region (NER). This training workshop was designed with a view to inculcating knowledge on springshed management to help in the conservation and rejuvenation of spring water. Twenty-six government officials serving in the north-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Mizoram have participated in the training workshop. A total of 22 lectures, including four field lectures, were delivered by the scientists of NIH and CGWB on various topics pertaining to springshed management. Scientists from CGWB Calcutta, Shilllong, and Guwahati also delivered important lectures on the genesis of spring and springshed management in the context of the North Eastern states of India. A scientist from NIH Roorkee conducted a hands-on exercise for data collection using an open-source mobile application and conducted a hands-on exercise on digital data creation, handling, and processing using open-source GIS software. Resource persons from the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA), Shillong, and the People Science Institute (PSI), Dehradun, delivered important talks and case studies pertaining to springshed management.

On a field trip to nearby spring systems, the participants were provided hands-on training for data collection and in-situ water quality testing. The participants were also exposed to spring typology and various interventions that can be made to augment spring recharge during the field visit. Officials of the NEHARI Brahmaputra Board also demonstrated various lab facilities available in NEHARI to the participants being utilised for various works in the Brahmaputra River basin.

Ranbir Singh, Chairman of the Brahmaputra Board, was the chief guest of the valedictory programme and shared important ideas and vision pertaining to the domain.

Also Read: Brahmaputra Board chairman Dr Ranbir Singh visits Arunachal Pradesh district (sentinelassam.com)

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