Mumbai: Public participation is important for the preservation and conservation of groundwater resources said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Groundwater resources are very important and the Groundwater Survey and Development Agency (GSDA) has done a very important work in the last 50 years for the preservation and conservation of these resources. In the future also the agency will give a valuable contribution in this field. People participation can play important role in this work” said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
He was speaking at the program of golden jubilee anniversary of Groundwater Survey and Development Agency, held at Sahyadri Guest House, Mumbai. Mr. Thackeray further stated that the water on the ground is visible. This makes it much easier to plan. But DCGA is doing the work of planning by researching the groundwater. Therefore, it is very important to conserve and preserve this wealth. Groundwater replenishing is important “Groundwater replenishing is essential to increase groundwater resources and various technologies and measures for these works are being implemented and developed through GSDA. There is a need to increase public participation in this task. The Government will provide all necessary assistance to the Groundwater Survey and Development Agency” said Chief Minister. He assured that the essential placements in GSDA would be filled on priority basis. The Chief Minister appreciated the various booklets prepared by the agency for technical guidance and understanding of various aspects of groundwater. He expressed the need to take these booklets to as many people as possible.
“Total183 water testing laboratories have been sanctioned in the state under the Groundwater Survey and Development Agency of the Water Supply and Sanitation Department to supply quality water to the people of the state. From it water samples are checked, quality is taken care of” mentioned Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar.
System is needed to check the quality of bottled water The Deputy Chief Minister further said that quality of bottled drinking water needs to be checked and it needs to be ascertained whether it is suitable or not. There are separate pipelines to supply drinking water and other use water in the Nanded City area of Pune. The water is supplied to the citizens through these separate pipeline. There is a need to implement such schemes in all over the state. All municipalities should work on sewage treatment to reprocess wastewater “Sewage from cities is discharged into nearby river channels without any treatment. This pollutes the water of rivers. This water then goes to the dam and then the water is used for agriculture and this pollution reaches your home through vegetables. To prevent this pollution, all local bodies need to treat wastewater. Topics like water refilling and water quality should be included in the school curriculum to make people more aware about this work” stated Mr. Pawar.
Public participation is important for the preservation and conservation of groundwater resources – Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. “About 92 % of the total area of the state is covered by rocks which are very difficult to store ground water. So in terms of groundwater Maharashtra has many limitations compared to other states. However, geologists, engineers, geophysicists and chemists have put their knowledge and experience in the last 50 years to provide drinking water facilities to the people in the remote areas of the state and this work is continuing till date. . This is the real success of GSDA. Whether it is a remote tribal community situated in the Satpuda mountain range in Nandurbar district, or the people of Naxal-affected areas like Gadchiroli, where it is difficult to reach even today, this agency searched groundwater and set up hand pumps. This is really very admirable” said Minister of Water Supply and Sanitation, Gulabrao Patil.
Minister of State Sanjay Bansode said that all the officers and staff of Groundwater Survey and Development Agency have been instrumental in creating a viable and sustainable drinking water system for the people in remote and rural areas. There are many challenges in terms of groundwater in the state. In order to deal with it effectively, it is necessary to formulate and implement a solid policy by strengthening the agency in this area. The state has seen the water scarcity situation of Latur city in the year 2016. This situation was caused due to unnecessary pumping of water.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Minister for Water Supply and Sanitation Gulabrao Patil and Minister of State Sanjay Bansode felicitated the officers, staff and scientists who have done an excellent job in the Groundwater Survey and Development Agency. Senior Geologist in GSDA Chandrakant Bhoyar, Pune, Senior Excavation Engineer Manoj Suradkar, Aurangabad, Dr. Shailesh Kanade, Mumbai, Assistant Chemist, Yogesh Pachhapurkar, Junior Geologist, Nashik, Sunil Mahajan, Assistant Administrative Officer Aurangabad, Sharad Kunjir, Pune, Vijay Patil, Junior Clerk, Pune, V. K. Kanire, Mechanic, G. B. Sheikh, Driver, Pune, J. A. Kotwal, Watchman, Pune received the award on this occasion
