Taking cognizance of “war over water around the world for overall water security and water equity of states and the country as a whole”, Ministry of Jal Shakti is set to establish Centre of Excellence for Smart Water Resource at Pune and the state-of- art laboratory for clean rivers at Varanasi in the home constituency of Prime Minister Narender Modi.
The laboratory of clean rivers will not only monitor the water of holy Gangaji, but also of all rivers across the country. Centre for Excellence for Smart Water Resource aim at taking India from the nation with water security and water equity to the national eco system of good quality water and water resources for better health, water quality and equilibrium and eco-balance, say the experts.
These rivers as of now reek of pollution caused by the trash and junk and sewerage and slush that get washed from different towns and cities into the rivers during the long course of their torturous journey, comment the water experts.
From Beas, Satluj, Ravi and Indus to Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari and Brahmaputra, all rivers in India tell the same story of pollution and torture. The lab of clean river will turn out to be a big boon for the rivers crying for care and attention as all stakeholders including municipalities will be taken to task to keep the rivers and streams pollution-free, said CWC officials.
As far as water security is concerned in the country, CWC as of now monitor the live water storage of over 141 dams across the country. Dams despite one-sided criticism from the anti-dam activists, have come in handy for taking care of water security, food and green and clean energy security as they ensure irrigation, generate power and maintain temperature and recharge ground water as well, said the water experts.
The dams like Bhakhra and Pong Dam – in Himachal have become big nesting wild life sanctuaries for the migratory birds and big fishing ponds that have revolutionised local economy, though it is the failure of the local state government that they could not rehabilitate the oustees the way they were entitled for. The dams also take care of floods and pond thousands of cubic meters of rains runoff for the lean season that otherwise go waste draining straight into the seas.
According to the top officials in the Central Water Commission (CWC), Centre of Excellence for Smart Water Resource will be set at CWC’s National Water Academy, Pune. The state-of- art laboratory for clean rivers at Varanasi under the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation of the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Government of Denmark will provide both funds and expertise to get these two major projects going after an MoU is expected to be signed in a month time, the officials revealed.
The top experts from India’s top water institutions and Embassy of Denmark in New Delhi today zeroed in on the two main action plans- Laboratory for Clean Rivers at Varanasi and Centre of Excellence for Smart Water Resource at a virtual meeting held by them from New Delhi.
After identifying these two priority projects, the India has set the ball rolling for the next rounds of talks with the Denmark government for both funding and expertise.
The “clean rivers and water security and water equity have assumed significant dimension in the country. This is all the more so when Himalayan glaciers are melting and retreating fast, the rivers flow is receding or experiencing extreme weather events carrying tonnes of trash and junk, sands in floods in river basins across the country, said the officials.
“India has given views for two action plans to the Embassy officials of Denmark in Delhi. Now the Denmark has to respond to today’s discussion with country experts”, said a top official in CWC.
Denmark is expected to fund and give expertise. India and Denmark will identify the components and funding part in next stage. Indian side has made a presentation, Denmark side has to respond, said P Gyamba Dorje, chief engineer, CWC, who attended the meeting.
The virtual meeting was attended by Kushvinder Vohra, member, CWC, P Gyamba Dorje, chief engineer, CWC, Ashok Kharya, chief engineer, National Water Academy, Pune, Pankage, director RDC- 2, CWC, New Delhi, Anoop Nagar, member, Central Ground Water Board, DP Mathuriya, director technical, National Mission for Clean Ganga, Manmohan Goel, scientist- G, National Institute of Hydrology.
Representing the Denmark embassy, New Delhi included Steen Malthe Hansen, Head of Political and Economic Department, Dr. Anitha Kumari Sharma, counsellor for Urban Affairs with Focus on Water, Dr. Jakob Williams Ørberg, counsellor for Innovation, Research and Higher Education, Simon Apelblat Thomsen, environment counsellor and Jaidev Joshi, Strategic Sector Cooperation Program Officer.
They all expressed and exchanged their views and took the feedback from the Indian experts from the different fields to take the two action plans to the next level, said the officials.
The Jal Shakti Ministry has made a good beginning as lab for clean rivers and centre of excellence for water resource are the need of hour in India.
(Kuldeep Chauhan is Editor, HimbuMail)
