Central water board to dig 70 tube wells in Kashmir

Srinagar, May 10 (UNI) The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has finalised an ambitious action plan to dig out about 70 tube wells with capacity for 15000 gallons of water per hour each to meet the drinking water requirements in the valley.

Each tube well will cost Rs 15 lakh, chairman CGWB Brij Mohan Jha said here today.

The CGWB is establishing its office in Srinagar from tomorrow, Mr Jha said during his interaction with Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Mohammad Dilawar Mir.

The Minister asked the Chairman CGWB and his team, which is currently on a three-day visit to the valley, to conduct a thorough survey of acute water scarce areas of the state where ground water resources could be fully exploited to provide water supply to the suffering people.

The minister asked the CGWB to immediately divert modern well boring rigs from the other parts of the country to the Kashmir valley so that targets fixed for the current year are accomplished on schedule keeping in view the limited working season in the valley.

The Minister stressed, while assuring all possible assistance to CGWB to make it fully and effectively operational in the valley.

The Minister also ordered the state PHE Ground Water Department to dig out 1900 hand pumps at a cost of Rs 15 crore in water scarce areas of the valley during the current year.

He also ordered for procurement of two modern well boring rigs each costing Rs 2.50 crore to complete the targets expeditiously.

He urged for prioritising the areas on the basis of acute water shortage.

The Minister also urged for close coordination between the engineers of the CGWB and the State PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Departments to achieve the targets with regard to provide drinking water facilities to the people.

The Minister also called for replacement of outdated and obsolete machineries at various pump stations to improve water lifting capacity of power motors adding that adoption of latest technologies for de-silting at pump stations and water treatment plants was its of the hour.

UNI