Punjab Water Supply Board to launch 'wave water' campaign

Chandigarh, Oct 22 (UNI) After the success of the 'Save Water' campaign in the rural areas of the state by the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board has decided to launch a similar campaign in the urban areas beginning from Amritsar.

The objective of this campaign is to educate the users about the importance of water and prevent its wastage, Board Chairman Baldev Raj Chawla said here today.

Addressing mediapersons here, he said NGOs would be involved in this campaign. He, however, ruled out taking stringent steps against consumers to prevent wastage of water and said that it would be more of an educative campaign.

At present 86 per cent of the 82.61 lakh urban population is having access to water supply and 59 per cent of urban population is having access to sewerage system.

Dr Chawla said the government was committed and had given top priority to provide potable water and its safe disposal. A sum of Rs 5,591 crore would be spent on water supply, sewerage, storm water sewers, roads and Sewerage Treatment Plants (STP) in the next three years, he added.

Water supply and sewerage system is being provided at Amritsar and Ludhiana with the financial aid from the Central government under JNNURM. The sewerage scheme for Ludhiana costing Rs 241.39 crore and Rs 36.90 crore for rehabilitation of sewerage system in the walled city of Amritsar had been approved by the Central government and first installment of funds had been released.

The work of water supply in outer colonies of Amritsar at an estimated cost of Rs 19.02 crore under JNNURM was under progress against which 29 tubewells, 182 km of water lines and 20 OHSR are to be constructed.

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