RAMBAN: To sensitize the masses about importance of water conservation and importing know- how of water harvesting, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, NABARD, organised a one day debriefing workshop on Water Conservation in District Ramban. The workshop was inaugurated by Additional District Development Commissioner (ADDC) Ravinder Nath Sadhu, General Manager, NABARD Kiran Bijatkar, Programme Director of Centre for Environment and Education, Lucknow, Abdhesh Kumar Gangwar, Chief Horticulture Officer, Ramban Mukash Sharma, District Sheep Husbandry Officer, DDM, NABARD Arushi Sharma and representatives from various departments were also present during the workshop. Speaking on the occasion, ADDC said that it becomes immensely important that rain water is properly conserved and utilised. NABARD has started a water conservation campaign in the district with an objective to reach out to the rural communities to promote awareness about the need for conservation, preservation, and the efficient use of water resources.
To that end, issues such as rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge, and better agronomic and irrigation (more crop per drop) practices were promoted during this campaign. As part of this initiative, NABARD had appointed Krishi Jaldoots (Water Ambassadors).The Krishi Jaldoots were selected from local farmers and individuals with a good grasp and knowledge of the problems of their respective areas. The Jaldoots interacted with the villagers and spread awareness using various communication aids including posters and pamphlets etc. They also held a “Jal Samvaad”, which was an interactive forum for group discussion focusing on water-related issues, and identifying local best practices and solutions to tackle them. DDM, NABARD apprised that a resource mapping exercise was also conducted in the target villages.
This had helped in identifying key water structures in the villages, their existing status, renovation needs of existing infrastructure, and innovative solutions to address the water issues of the village. The locally generated information has been uploaded on a mobile app, developed by NABARD. Abdhesh Kumar Gangwar from Centre for Environment and Education, Lucknow had detailed interaction with the Krishi Jaldoots and conducted extensive exercise on preparation of an action plan. Other participants also made some insightful observations during the meeting and added useful inputs to the deliberations in the house.