Natural water sources are drying up — Rio

Gariphema gets two lakh litre capacity rainwater harvesting tank

Our Correspondent
Kohima, April 15 (EMN): Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Thursday asserted that Nagaland might not be facing acute water crisis as is experienced in other parts of the country but water sources in the state are drying up.

He stated that the traditional well water and natural sources were getting exhausted, like in Gariphema, and urged the people to manage the water sources well.

Rio was speaking at the inauguration of a two lakh litre capacity rainwater harvesting tank at Gariphema village in Kohima district, a project funded by the 13th Finance Commission and MGNREGS 2014-16.

The tank measures 40 feet long, 20 feet wide and 10 feet deep.

He shared that decades ago, Gariphema like any other village in the state, had lived on the mountain top for defense and warfare strategies and depended on springsheds and natural wells for water.

He, however pointed that with time, population growth and growing demands, water has become a challenge, asserting the need for a paradigm shift. He urged the people of Gariphema to augment a good water source and maintain it to meet the demands of the people.

Meanwhile, the chief minister stated that water supply project for Kohima from Zaru River, which was inaugurated last month, had a capacity to pump 3.80 million litres of water daily through electrical power. Even though this was in addition to the water supply sources from the forests of Jotsoma village and Southern Angami villages, there was still a shortfall of about 80% of the needs of the people of Kohima, he added.

He then stated that during the dry season, supplying of water becomes a flourishing business as it is essential for survival. He informed that water bill from the PHED for the new chief minister’s residential complex alone comes to INR 90,000, adding that water was precious.

Rio maintained that augmentation of water supply for Kohima from Teupuiki and Dzupfu rivers from Khonoma and Poilwa village was necessary to meet the requirements.

He said the government had decided to privatise the distribution of water supply in Kohima once outsourcing is completed, owing to the ‘poor management’ by the department.

“So also to let the people pay their bills and efficiently manage proper water supply,” he added.

While describing unemployment problem as a serious issue, he lamented that the people of the state did not have dignity of labour or were not willing to work for any type of job; he called for a change of mindset among the people to solve the unemployment crisis and other issues.

The chief minister said that Gariphema is a historic village, the birth place of Nagaland Christian Revival Church (NCRC), and added that it’s a blessing. He went on to say that the village is emerging as a progressive one on all fronts, apart from being famous for the production of ginger amongst other sectors of farming.

Earlier in the programme, the director of the Land Resource department (LRD), T Renben Lotha, highlighted various forms of rainwater harvesting methods and stated that the department ‘does much on naturally harvested method- springshed management’.

He maintained that springsheds were getting exhausted with time, which was a major concern to meet the demand and requirements of the people.

He then stressed on the need to budget the water and revive the naturally available resources and solve water scarcity problem, saying that it will be an asset today as well as in future.

Also, Chief Engineer of Water Resources department, Hotovi Ayemi highlighted the initiative of ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan’ (Phase-2 Campaign), stating that the launching of rainwater harvesting tank at Gariphema was a first of its kind in the state.

He also maintained that the department had identified Gariphema village for providing rooftop rain water harvesting structure but has been put on hold due to fund constraints. However, he the scheme will be taken up once the fiscal position improves.