World Water Day celebration witnesses host of activities across Jammu Division

Jammu: World Water Day witnessed host of activities across Jammu Division amid PM address after launch of ‘Catch The Rain’ Campaign which aims at to ”conserve rainwater when it falls, where it falls so that water reaches every corner of the nation.”
At Kishtwar: District Administration Kishtwar, under the overall supervision of Deputy Commissioner, Ashok Sharma hosted live telecast of Prime Minister’s address at the Conference Hall, DC Office Complex.District Development Council Chairperson, Pooja Thakur; District Development Council Vice-Chairperson Saima Parveen Lone; BDC Chairpersons, DDC members, besides officers of line departments were present on the occasion.On the occasion, the experts highlighted the importance of the conservation, preservation and management of water and encouraged the people to join the rain water harvesting campaign launched by the Prime Minister.The demonstration on the water testing by PHE department was also conducted during the programme.In his address, the DC asked the PRI members to aware the masses about the importance of preservation, conservation and management of water at the grass root level .He also stressed on educating the masses regarding the judicious use of water in gram sabhas itself.He asked the Rural Development Department to dedicate the future MGNREGA works in rural areas for the effective and efficient water conservation strategies.The DDC chairperson also laid thrust on coordinated efforts of departments and agencies to ensure the accessibility and affordability of clean drinking water to the people.
AT SAMBA: On the international world water day, the district administration Samba launched a series of activities to promote water saving and water conservation under the aegis of ‘catch the rain’ movement of Jal shakti department.District Magistrate Samba Anuradha Gupta, District Development Council Chairman, Keshav Dutt and Vice Chairman DDC Balwan Singh attended the launching ceremony of the campaign in presence of DDC members, District Officers and other officials.The function was preceded by the inaugural speech of Prime minister.Speaking on the occasion, the DM samba exhorted upon all the DDC members and officers to promote the water conservation campaign through different mediums at their disposal.Later a Jal Rath was flagged off by the chief guest. A plantation drive and signature camping was also held in DC office complex Park.
At Doda: To mark the world water day, the district administration Doda hosted live streaming of the launch of ‘Catch the Rain; campaign by Prime Minister and the pledge administered to the participants through virtual mode by the Lieutenant Governor, J&K .DDC Chairman, Dhananter Singh Kotwal; Vice Chairperson, Sangeeta Rani Bhagat; Deputy Commissioner, Vikas Sharma; DDC member Thathri Sandeep Singh; DDC member Changa, Nadeem Sharief Naz, President MC Doda, Ved Prakash Gupta, and senior officers were present. A Nukkad natak on water conservation theme was presented by local artists, besides experts highlighted the importance of water and its conservation.In his address, the DC informed that ‘Catch the Rain’ campaign launched by PM will continue till the end of monsoon season.Meanwhile, the DC also appealed all the people to follow the Covid-19 safety measures in letter and spirit, and wear the face mask compulsorily.The DDC Chairperson stressed on afforestation, proper management of water resources and spreading mass awareness about the importance of water.Similar program including pledge ceremony were also observed across the district.
At Kathua: District Administration Kathua organised a programme on the inaugural day of the ‘Catch the Rain’ campaign, which was presided over by District Development Council Chairman, Mahan Singh.At the outset, XEN Jal Shakti Surjeet Singh presented the drinking water profile of the district. He informed.The DDC Chairman, in his address, highlighted the need to adopt rain water harvesting to utilize the rainfall during monsoon season. He called for making collaborative efforts to utilize local human resources through MGNREGA to protect and preserve water bodies, besides making percolation pits in rural areas to recharge water table in the rainy season.The DDC Vice chairman, Raghunandan Singh said the initiative of Catch the Rain- ‘Where it falls when it falls” can be more fruitful for kandi and hilly areas where inhabitants face acute shortage of drinking water especially in peak summer season.Deputy Commissioner, Rahul Yadav called upon the elected PRI members to work in tandem with district administration, while formulating water conservation plans of their respective areas. He said ‘Special Gram Sabha’ on water conservation in each Panchayat Halqa is vital for formulating a roadmap for ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan’ activities in rural areas along with its planned execution. He said community level activities like ‘Shram Daan’ can give fillip to the efforts of rejuvenation and recharging of traditional water bodies. The live streaming of the inaugural function of ‘Catch the Rain’ by Prime Minister, followed by ‘Jal Shapath’ by Lieutenant Governor JKUT was also broadcast. Earlier in the day, DC Rahul Yadav flagged off an ‘Awareness Van’ besides a rally of school students which passed through main areas of Kathua town.
AT RAJOURI: A grand programme was organised by the District Administration Rajouri here at Government Degree College to mark the launch of Jal Shakti Abhiyan and promote the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign, here under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner, Rajesh K Shavan. On the occasion, the live streaming of the launch of the campaign by the Prime Minister was also hosted amid participation of the people from all walks of life. DDC Chairman, Naseem Liyaqat Chowdhary; Vice-Chairman DDC, Shabir Khan; President MC Rajouri, Mohammad Arif; DDC member Sunderbani, Rajinder Sharma; DDC Member Rajouri, Sain Rashid; SSP, Sheema Nabi Qasba; ADC Rajouri, Sher Singh; District Programme Officer, Kartar Singh and other district and sectoral officers were present. In his address, the Deputy Commissioner said that the District Administration Rajouri is making persistent efforts to provide drinking water facility to all the households of the district and numerous initiatives are underway in this regard.He said the administration is working on mission mode to make all the defunct hand pumps functional in the District. He said 102 defunct hand pumps have been made functional in Sunderbans in one month. A Cultural Program was also presented on the theme of water conservation and women empowerment by Artists of Sangeet Kala Academy Poonch.Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner also launched Safety Drive, a Self Defence Training for the Girls.Similar functions were organised in all the Subdivision, 19 Blocks and Panchayats. Besides, a plantation drive was also carried out in some Sub divisions.
At Reasi: World Water Day was celebrated at Reasi with the live streaming of the launch of Jal Shakti Abhiyan by the Prime Minister, which was witnessed by persons from all walks of life.DDC Chairman, Saraf Singh Nag was the chief guest. At the outset, Deputy Commissioner, Ajay Kumar administered a pledge to the participants to seek their cooperation in the water conservation campaign. In his address, DDC Chairman said that the Water collection in India is a woman’s job, and there is no respite, even when she’s menstruating, ill, or has something else to do. “This is just because water is the most indispensable gift of nature” he added. He maintained that the role of women is pivotal in curbing wastage of water and guaranteeing its wise use. He also said the women can also educate their children and family members about the judicious use of water and the importance of water conservation.He said access to safe drinking water is every one’s right and district administration is committed to provide safe drinking water to every household of the District.The Deputy Commissioner, highlighted the steps being taken to provide drinking water facility to all the households. He urged the people to play a constructive role in water conservation and preservation by ensuring its judicious use. Similar, functions were held at all blocks of district Reasi and a plantation drive was also carried out.
At Ramban: After a weeklong water conservation and preservation awareness drive, District Administration, Ramban celebrated the World Water Day with the launch of “Catch the Rain” campaign by the Prime Minister. The main function was organized in the Conference Hall, Maitra by the Jal Shakti Department which was presided over by DDC, Chairperson, Dr. Shamshad Shan. Deputy Commissioner, Mussarat Islam; DDC Members, and the senior officers of district administration also attended the event.The officers of Jal Shakti Department were expert speakers on the occasion. In her address, the DDC Chairperson urged all stakeholders to make the ‘Catch the Rain’ mission successful by conserving rain water and the water resources for the next generations. She urged the public representatives and officers to work in coordination to achieve tangible results in the development process. Speaking on the occasion, the DC informed that during the week long awareness drive the District Administration organized series of informative programmes to spread awareness about Jal Jeevan Mission. He urged the participants to use water judiciously and spread awareness about the scientific ways of harnessing the water wealth. The DC said that the campaign will be undertaken across the district in both rural and urban areas with the theme “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls”. It will be implemented from March 22 to November 30 – the pre-monsoon and monsoon period, he informed.Meanwhile, a symposia was also held on the topic ‘water harvesting’ in which students of different schools participated.Similar programmes were also held at block levels across the district in which BDC Chairpersons, Senior Officers, PRIs and general public participated.
At Poonch: World Water day was celebrated at Poonch under the aegis of Jal Jivan Mission.The function was presided over by the chairperson District Development Council, Tazeem Akhter, while DDC members Riaz Bashir Naz and Sohail Malik were also present on the occasion. District Development Commissioner, Inder Jeet administered the Pani Shapat to all the participants.
He spoke at length on the importance and preservation of water for the future generations by making its optimum use. He exhorted upon the officers to make all possible efforts to ensure potable drinking water to all the dwellers of district Poonch. Similar programmes were also organized in all the blocks of District.Other speakers also put detailed light on the theme” catch the rain where it falls when it falls” and laid stress on the rain water harvesting, its preservation with special focus on ground water recharging.Several cultural programmes were organised on the theme which were attended by prominent citizens of the area along with PRI members, Asha workers and Anganwadi workers.
At Udhampur: A mega function was organized by District Administration Udhampur at the launch of “Catch the Rain” campaign by Prime Minister.District Development Council Chairperson, Lal Chand was the chief guest, while Deputy Commissioner, Indu Kanwal Chib presided over the function attended by BDC Chairperson, Balwan Singh President MC Udhampur, Dr Jogeshwar Gupta, District Development Council members, Councillors, besides senior officers of district administration. At outset, Superintendent Engineer Jal Shakti Hydraulic Circle Udhampur, P P Arora, gave a detailed overview about the Jal Shakti Abhiyan. He said that Jal Jeevan Mission is centrally sponsored with objective to provide 100 percent tap water to all households and 150 DPRS amounting to Rs 1000 crore have been formulated for the district.Addressing the gathering, the chief guest highlighted the importance of water and said that the aim of the programme is to create awareness among the general public regarding conservation, preservation and judicious use of water. Deputy Commissioner Udhampur also spoke on the occasion and said that the water conservation is very important for and also highlighted the importance of water hygiene and its advantages in present life. She informed that a workshop will be held later this week with involvement of experts of national and international repute to train atleast 50 master trainers across different section to make this Jal Shakti Abiyaan a success and a mass movement through Janbhagidhari.Other speakers also threw light on water conservation and highlighted the importance of clean drinking water.During the programme, Artists of Bhartiya Kala Manch Udhampur presented theme based skit on water conservation which was highly appreciated by the participants.