Shirpur pattern to solve water woes of Jalna
AURANGABAD: A day after chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said that the government was seriously contemplating the introduction of Shirpur pattern of water conservation in drought-hit Jalna district, senior geologist and water expert Suresh Khanapurkar, one of the pioneers of the pattern, expressed confidence on making the district least dependable on the newly inaugurated water supply scheme.
Shirpur pattern has been successfully implemented in drought-hit Dhule district and impressed by it, the chief minister announced an aid of Rs 8 crore for the Jalna administration to introduce the pattern.
"It is just a matter of time that the residents will no more be dependent on any other source of water than the ones within the district limits," Khanapurkar told TOI.
"As per the monsoon pattern, Jalna gets rain at least three times more than their annual consumption. However, as the district is poorly equipped, all the rainwater gets drained away. To tackle the problem, the water has to be caught wherever it falls its percolation has to be increased so that the groundwater level also rises. For the purpose, we will construct at least 10 cement plugs each having a width of 200 feet and depth of 20 feet in Kundalika river. Each cement plug will be built at a distance of around 400 feet," he said.
"After the completion of this project, the city would be able to get water twice a day in the coming two years. The only thing we will have to do is catch the three-fold rainwater, store it and allow it to percolate. This will greatly lessen Jalna's dependability on the newly inaugurated Jayakwadi to Jalna water supply scheme," Khanapurkar added.
The Ghanewadi Jal Sanrakshan Manch comprising traders, industrialists, professionals and residents have joined hands to follow the Shirpur pattern. Under the supervision of Khanapurkar, mass scale desilting is in progress and the work of constructing the first cement plug in Kundalika river has already started. Various NGOs from the city are also actively involved in removing silt from the 600 acre area of the Ghanewadi dam.
"The per capita availability of water at the time of Independence was 5,000 cu mtr/year. However, it has now dipped down to a meagre 1,200 cu mtr/year. The time has come to collect as much rainwater as we can and also recharge the groundwater level," Khanapurkar said.
However, a senior administrative officer has raised questions as to why the Shirpur pattern is being launched in the district after wasting more than Rs 200 crore on the Jayakwadi to Jalna water supply scheme. "If the government had taken the initiative a few years back, the amount of public money would have been saved," the senior officer said on the condition of anonymity.
Source - TOI - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/aurangabad/Shirpur-pattern-to-solve-water-woes-of-Jalna/articleshow/19961501.cms
Shirpur pattern has been successfully implemented in drought-hit Dhule district and impressed by it, the chief minister announced an aid of Rs 8 crore for the Jalna administration to introduce the pattern.
"It is just a matter of time that the residents will no more be dependent on any other source of water than the ones within the district limits," Khanapurkar told TOI.
"As per the monsoon pattern, Jalna gets rain at least three times more than their annual consumption. However, as the district is poorly equipped, all the rainwater gets drained away. To tackle the problem, the water has to be caught wherever it falls its percolation has to be increased so that the groundwater level also rises. For the purpose, we will construct at least 10 cement plugs each having a width of 200 feet and depth of 20 feet in Kundalika river. Each cement plug will be built at a distance of around 400 feet," he said.
"After the completion of this project, the city would be able to get water twice a day in the coming two years. The only thing we will have to do is catch the three-fold rainwater, store it and allow it to percolate. This will greatly lessen Jalna's dependability on the newly inaugurated Jayakwadi to Jalna water supply scheme," Khanapurkar added.
The Ghanewadi Jal Sanrakshan Manch comprising traders, industrialists, professionals and residents have joined hands to follow the Shirpur pattern. Under the supervision of Khanapurkar, mass scale desilting is in progress and the work of constructing the first cement plug in Kundalika river has already started. Various NGOs from the city are also actively involved in removing silt from the 600 acre area of the Ghanewadi dam.
"The per capita availability of water at the time of Independence was 5,000 cu mtr/year. However, it has now dipped down to a meagre 1,200 cu mtr/year. The time has come to collect as much rainwater as we can and also recharge the groundwater level," Khanapurkar said.
However, a senior administrative officer has raised questions as to why the Shirpur pattern is being launched in the district after wasting more than Rs 200 crore on the Jayakwadi to Jalna water supply scheme. "If the government had taken the initiative a few years back, the amount of public money would have been saved," the senior officer said on the condition of anonymity.
Source - TOI - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/aurangabad/Shirpur-pattern-to-solve-water-woes-of-Jalna/articleshow/19961501.cms