Jalandhar waits for rainwater harvesting plants

While the first rainfall of the monsoon season has brought cheer for the farming community in Jalandhar and surrounding areas...

While the first rainfall of the monsoon season has brought cheer for the farming community in Jalandhar and surrounding areas,it has also exposed the false promises of the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation to install rainwater harvesting plants. The MC had said it would install six rainwater harvesting plants to replenish the depleting water table. According to the soil conservation department,the municipal corporations in the entire state have been wasting rainwater. According to the building by-laws of the local bodies department,it is compulsory for every building over 200 sq yards (private or commercial) in urban areas to install rainwater harvesting plants.

But the municipal corporations and municipal committees of the state have hardly made any efforts in this regard.

In 2008,the Jalandhar MC had announced to install six rainwater harvesting plants in various low lying areas of the city before the onset of monsoons in 2009. However,till now,only one such plant has been set up near Gulab Devi Hospital which is also not working properly.

Story continues below this ad

On the one hand,huge areas are being brought under paddy,and on the other hand no efforts are being made to recharge ground water in the state through rainwater harvesting,said a senior agriculture officer.

According to the estimates of the Punjab Soil Conservation department 65 to 70 per cent rainwater in the city goes waste every season. If we had harvested rainwater earlier,the ground water level would have come up and used for agricultural purposes again, said Chief Soil Conservator Punjab Anil Kumar Sondhi. Superintendent Engineer (Operations and Maintenance) A S Dhaliwal said,three rainwater water harvesting plants will be installed in Rajinder Nagar and the MC House has to pass the proposal.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram