Need for river basin-based water conservation: expert

Workshop on wetland conservation held at Aranmula

National Water Mission Director G.Ashok Kumar releasing a study report on the Varattar rejuvenation, prepared by the Pampa Parirakshana Samiti, during a workshop on wetland conservation at the Environment Resource Centre at Poovathoor, near Aranmula, on Monday.

National Water Mission Director G. Ashok Kumar has called for comprehensive water conservation and management in each river basin across the country to address the growing water needs effectively.

Mr. Ashok Kumar was inaugurating a workshop on wetland conservation organised jointly by the Pampa Parirakshana Samiti and the State Wetland Authority Kerala (SWAK) at the Environment Resource Centre at Poovathoor, near Aranmula, on Monday.

He said it is high time people stopped misuse of water and improved the efficiency of water supply at least by 20% as there was a big gap between the availability and requirement of water. Lowering of the groundwater level has been reported from many parts of India and, in this context, there is need to implement various water conservation projects like rainwater harvesting to raise the groundwater level, he said.

Mr. Ashok Kumar stressed the importance of united efforts for conservation of water resources and management in each region.

District panchayat president Annapoornadevi presided over the inaugural function.

Released

Mr. Ashok Kumar also released a study report prepared by the Pampa Parirakshana Samiti on rejuvenation of the Varattar river on the occasion.

R. Krishnakumar, Koipram block panchayat president; Sreelekha Vijayakumar, Koipram panchayat president; C. Ambili, Assistant Director of Agriculture; V.S. Gopalakrishnan, Ala Rural Service Society secretary; N.K. Sukumaran, K.R. Vinayachandran Nair, P. Prasannakumar, and Alexander K. Thomas, all PPS office-bearers, spoke.