NEW DELHI: Banda district in Uttar Pradesh ’s Bundelkhand region, which was once known for drought and farmer suicides, on Tuesday bagged the best district (North Zone) national award for showcasing exceptional intiatives in water management and conservation. Also, UP has secured the second position in the state category after Odisha in water conservation and management in the country.
President Droupadi Murmu honoured UP with the second place and Banda with the best district (north zone) award during the 5th Rashtriya Jal Puraskar-2023 in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Welcoming the awards, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath posted on X, “Under the guidance of respected Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, many unprecedented works are being done in the direction of ' Jal Shakti ' in Uttar Pradesh. This achievement is the result of the Uttar Pradesh government giving priority to water conservation, management and public participation. Heartiest congratulations to the people of the state and all those involved in this sacred work of water conservation and promotion!”
Each and every house in around 18,000 villages of UP have received drinking water supply under the government’s Har Ghar Nal Scheme.
IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal , who was till recently Banda DM, received the award on behalf of the district. Chief development officer of Banda, Ved Prakash Maurya, was also present at the award ceremony.
“Honoured to receive National Water Awards first prize from Hon’ble President of India for district Banda under best district category. Grateful to have been a part of Team Banda and to drive the mission to transform Banda from water scarce to water surplus district,” DM Nagpal posted on X. Nagpal, who is currently Lakhimpur Kheri DM, had worked as Banda DM for over 14 months during which she took several big initiatives for water conservation and management.
The barren and hilly region of Banda, with difficult topography and sparse vegetation, made it difficult for groundwater re-harvesting. Though the average rainfall in the Bundelkhand district in the year 2019 was 902 mm, it was higher than that of Punjab and Haryana, 636 mm and 563 mm, respectively. Despite low rainfall, the two northwestern states could tackle the water crisis because of rainwater harvesting. Bundelkhand, on the other hand, lagged on that front.
However, several efforts were taken by the UP government over the past several years for water conservation in the district. Under these programmes, 405 ponds of the district were revived and 4,690 soak pits constructed, and sprinkler & drip irrigation systems were being used for farming, which saved a lot of water. Initiatives were also taken for mapping of ponds, check dams and other water structures. A massive tree plantation drive was also undertaken for water conservation.
The Aviral Jal Abhiyan is also being run in Banda district in which awareness campaigns are being run regularly and workshops are being organised to increase people's participation.
IAS officer Heera Lal , who was the DM of Banda from August 2018 to February 2020, had also played a significant role for water conservation in order to change the lives of people in the drought-hit district during his tenure. Speaking to TOI, Heeral Lal, who is currently special secretary in the irrigation department of the UP government, said, “During my tenure, 2,200 private wells and over 2.200 government wells were desilted and over 1,000 wells were dug up.” He had suggested shaft digging near wells or hand pumps to conserve rainwater and pushed for a massive tree plantation drive. “Trees help us store and conserve water. Hence, plant as many trees as possible in your vicinity,” he used to tell villagers. For the best district award to Banda, Heera said, “The credit goes to people as they continued the water conservation efforts even after my transfer.”
President Droupadi Murmu honoured UP with the second place and Banda with the best district (north zone) award during the 5th Rashtriya Jal Puraskar-2023 in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Welcoming the awards, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath posted on X, “Under the guidance of respected Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, many unprecedented works are being done in the direction of ' Jal Shakti ' in Uttar Pradesh. This achievement is the result of the Uttar Pradesh government giving priority to water conservation, management and public participation. Heartiest congratulations to the people of the state and all those involved in this sacred work of water conservation and promotion!”
Each and every house in around 18,000 villages of UP have received drinking water supply under the government’s Har Ghar Nal Scheme.
IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal , who was till recently Banda DM, received the award on behalf of the district. Chief development officer of Banda, Ved Prakash Maurya, was also present at the award ceremony.
“Honoured to receive National Water Awards first prize from Hon’ble President of India for district Banda under best district category. Grateful to have been a part of Team Banda and to drive the mission to transform Banda from water scarce to water surplus district,” DM Nagpal posted on X. Nagpal, who is currently Lakhimpur Kheri DM, had worked as Banda DM for over 14 months during which she took several big initiatives for water conservation and management.
The barren and hilly region of Banda, with difficult topography and sparse vegetation, made it difficult for groundwater re-harvesting. Though the average rainfall in the Bundelkhand district in the year 2019 was 902 mm, it was higher than that of Punjab and Haryana, 636 mm and 563 mm, respectively. Despite low rainfall, the two northwestern states could tackle the water crisis because of rainwater harvesting. Bundelkhand, on the other hand, lagged on that front.
However, several efforts were taken by the UP government over the past several years for water conservation in the district. Under these programmes, 405 ponds of the district were revived and 4,690 soak pits constructed, and sprinkler & drip irrigation systems were being used for farming, which saved a lot of water. Initiatives were also taken for mapping of ponds, check dams and other water structures. A massive tree plantation drive was also undertaken for water conservation.
The Aviral Jal Abhiyan is also being run in Banda district in which awareness campaigns are being run regularly and workshops are being organised to increase people's participation.
IAS officer Heera Lal , who was the DM of Banda from August 2018 to February 2020, had also played a significant role for water conservation in order to change the lives of people in the drought-hit district during his tenure. Speaking to TOI, Heeral Lal, who is currently special secretary in the irrigation department of the UP government, said, “During my tenure, 2,200 private wells and over 2.200 government wells were desilted and over 1,000 wells were dug up.” He had suggested shaft digging near wells or hand pumps to conserve rainwater and pushed for a massive tree plantation drive. “Trees help us store and conserve water. Hence, plant as many trees as possible in your vicinity,” he used to tell villagers. For the best district award to Banda, Heera said, “The credit goes to people as they continued the water conservation efforts even after my transfer.”
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