Kargil, June 12: Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA), Govt. of India, Sanjeet today chaired a meeting on preparatory and planning of Jal Shakti Abhiyan under the theme “Catch the Rain, Where It Falls, When It Falls, Harvest Rainfall” at Conference Hall, Baroo, Kargil.

Deputy Commissioner/CEO, LAHDC, Kargil, Santosh Sukhadeve, Superintending Engineer, PHE, I&FC, Maqbool Hussain, ACD, Ghulam Muhammad, CPO Abdul Hadi, Divisional Forest Officer Kargil, Exen PHE, Kargil, Exen PWD, Zanskar, Exen I&FC Kargil, Technical Officer, Shailesh Bhatnagar, District Panchayat Officer (DPO) Kargil, Chief Agriculture Officer, Kargil and other district officials/officers attended the meeting.

During the meeting, the Joint Secretary expressed satisfaction over the active participation of all the concerned departments and in this crucial water conservation initiative.

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He commended relentless efforts of the district in raising awareness about the significance of water conservation through various innovative initiatives. He also acknowledged and appreciated the exceptional work carried out in the district under Jal Shakti Abhiyan.

The Joint Secretary emphasized on source sustainability and generation of new water bodies. He asked to share new ideas and sustainable plans for water conservation.

Sanjeet directed the officials to focus on construction and prevention of water resources with proper geo-tagging, preparatory and planning of ongoing and new works under Jal Shakti Abhiyan.

He instructed the departments for taking community participation and their education regarding the Jal Shakti Abhiyan campaign. He stressed on source sanitation to ensure purity of drinking water.

Sanjeet said that the coordinated efforts contribute to the overall conservation and sustainability of the region’s water ecosystems.

Deputy Commissioner/CEO, LAHDC, Kargil Santosh Sukhadeve in his address, talked about sources of water used for irrigation in the district. He said the plans to construct lift irrigation have mainly focused on drought-exposed areas.

DC Kargil said more than 70 percent work of FHTC under JJM is complete and remaining will be completed very soon. He said mapping the groundwater and its proper utilization is very important for Ladakh. He advised for conservation of water sources and generation of new water bodies to mitigate the scarcity of water for upcoming generations.

Earlier, SE Maqbool Hussain in his presentation showed various milestones which marked a significant step towards ensuring effective management and conservation of water resources in the district.

He said the theme of Jal Shakti Abhiyan campaign in Kargil would be catching the snow as rain is not the major source of water in the district.

He showed some adopted practices by which water harvesting has been done. He also highlighted work progress of various departments of Kargil under the scheme and presented new proposals and plans of all concerned departments for water harvesting.

During the meeting, the ongoing works of JJM in Kargil District were presented by Exen PHE showcasing the efforts in providing safe and adequate drinking water to every household in the district.

Later, the Joint Secretary Sanjeet visited several villages in the district to assess the progress of various projects under Jal Shakti Abhiyan.

He also visited Thang Hardass where he inspected the newly installed dug well, a significant asset for water conservation and irrigation purpose. He visited the projects under the JJJM, where he examined the progress of the water tank and dug well.

The Joint Secretary also reviewed the work progress of water tanks at Trespone, construction of irrigation canal at Sailskot, afforestation scheme at Thuina, lift irrigation of Faroona and main irrigation canal of Sailskot.

In the end of the visit, he said all these initiatives focus on sustainable land and water resource management to enhance agricultural productivity and mitigate the adverse effects of soil erosion and water scarcity.