Assam: Training on source sustainability for Jal Jeevan Mission schemes concludes

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Under the leadership of Dr. Ranbir Singh, Chairman, Brahmaputra Board, the North Eastern Hydraulic and Allied Research Institute (NEHARI) conducted a five-day training workshop on "Source Sustainability for Jal Jeevan Mission Schemes" in association with the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee, during September 24-28, 2024.

Various sources in the form of springs, streams, lakes, and groundwater have been tapped for the Jal Jeevan Mission drinking water supply schemes for each and every household in rural areas. Reducing water availability in these sources is posing huge challenges to ensuring water security for these schemes in the North Eastern region. To achieve the overarching goal of ensuring water supply to each household in the North Eastern region, source sustainability measures have become the need of the hour. Following the recommendations of the National Jal Jeevan Mission, Ministry of Jal Shakti, and Government of India on capacity building of state agencies for source sustainability of Jal Jeevan Mission schemes, this is the need of the hour to initiate various activities for protecting and ensuring the water availability in these sources round the year in the North Eastern region.

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 the North East Region (NER). This training workshop was designed with a view to inculcate knowledge on source sustainability for Jal Jeevan Mission Schemes to help in better conservation and rejuvenation of springs, streams, and groundwater. Twenty-four government officials serving in the North Eastern States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, and West Bengal have participated in the training workshop. A total oftwenty-four lectures, including four field lectures, were delivered by the scientists of NIH and CGWB on various topics pertaining to Jal Jeevan Mission Schemes. Scientists from CGWB, Guwahati & Shilllong delivered important lecture on genesis of spring and Springshed management in the context of North Eastern states of India. Scientist from NIH Roorkee delivered lectures on various types of sources, their flow dynamics, interventions for source sustainability and conducted hands on exercise for data collection using open source mobile application and conducted a hands-on exercise on Digital Data creation, handling, and processing using open source GIS software.

In a field trip to nearby two Jal Jeevan Mission Schemes (one spring-based and one stream-based), the participants were provided hands-on training for data collection and in-situ water quality testing. The participants were also exposed to various interventions that can be made to augment the sources 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.

 Also Read: Assam PHED Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah Reviews Jal Jeevan Mission Progress; Signs MoU with Arghyam to Enhance Implementation (sentinelassam.com)

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