NewZNew (Chandigarh) : “An integrated approach by all is required for efficient management of water and other resources, it was important that everyone pays for what he uses” said Vijay Kumar Dev, Advisor to Administrator, UT Administrator, Chandigarh who was the Chief Guest at the Conference on “Water Conservation and Management organized by PHD Chamber at here today. He suggested that to stop wastage of potable water, tertiary treated water should be used for irrigation of lawns and other auxiliary purposes. The Advisor further cautioned that encroachment on water pipes by helpless poor people results in damaging of water and sewerage lines that sometimes leads to contamination of potable water. Therefore, integrated efforts are needed to effectively conserve and manage the water resources.
Vikram Sahgal, Chairman, Chandigarh Committee of PHD Chamber and Managing Director of Micron Instruments Pvt. Ltd. while addressing the Conference said that more than two billion people worldwide live in different regions facing water scarcity and particularly in India, there is an acute shortage of water. Millions of Indians currently lack access to clean drinking water, and the situation is worsening day by day.
Summing up the Inaugural Session, Ashok Khanna, Past President, PHDCCI raised issues relating to the bottlenecks being faced in effective implementation of the policies and issues like water conservation. He insisted that for efficient governance in Chandigarh, the Post of Chief Commissioner should be revived to have a psychological impact down the line for better implementation of the policy decisions.
Dr. Praveen Rathee, Regional Director, PHD Chamber, said that several points were raised during the conference related to practical problems of Water Conservation and Management and we have proposed the Advisor, UT Administration a composition of an expert committee on the subject. PHD Chamber would take the initiative and soon coordinate with the concerned departments from Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh to be a part of it so that the committee may look into practical issues and challenges related to Water Conservation and Management.
The Conference was also addressed by experts including Mukesh Anand, Chief Engineer, Municipal Corporation, UT, Dr. S K Jain, Regional Director, Central Ground Water Board who spoke on the topic of ‘Present Water Scenario & Ground Water Estimation’, Alok Srivastava, Professor, Chemistry, Punjab University who explained regarding Heavy Metal Pollution in Rivers due to Industrial Wastes and S R Aggarwal, Chief Technical Coordinator, Deptt. of Water Supply and Sanitation, Punjab enlightened participants on Water Conservation and Management Measures in Rural Areas of Punjab.
