The preparation is in full swing for the three-day National Water Convention at BLDE ground from August 16.
This is the first time that such an event, generally organised in metropolitan cities of the country, is being held in Vijayapura. Dozens of experts in water conservation will take part to share their views. Personalities such as Anna Hazare and Rajendra Singh are expected to attend.
One of the reasons behind selecting Vijayapura for the event is the effort made by the State government in reviving ancient tanks and historic Bawadis (open wells) for water conservation.
While several ancient tanks including Begum Talab, Mamadapur and Bhutanal that had been dry for decades have been filled with water, around 22 historic Bawadis of the city have been cleaned.
These tanks and Bawadis were built during Adil Shahi era for supplying water to the parched city. However, owing to negligence, they are either running dry or being used to dump garbage. The water in these Bawadis was completely contaminated.
However, district In-charge Minister M.B. Patil took strong measures to revive these historic Bawadis.
While he got the tanks filled as part of a State government project, he received contributions from private agencies and industrialists for reviving and cleaning Bawadis. These are now bringing fresh water from hundreds of springs and it have become potable.
Around 200 water experts and over 800 activists are going to participate in the event. They have served in rivers basins of Ganga, Yamuna, Krishna, Godavari and Brahmaputra.
One of the objectives of the event is also to spread awareness through a ‘water literacy campaign’ on the importance of conserving water, said Rajendra Poddar, one of the organisers of the event.
