Dehradun, March 16
This summer, water may become a scarce commodity for the people of Uttarakhand. Due to poor management of water resources, haphazard growth and erratic rain several areas are already reeling under acute water shortage. 

The problem may be aggravated in months to come. As many as 92 urban and 395 rural areas in the state are likely to face the heat. In all, 487 areas are in the red and in most, taps may run dry this summer.

The Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan has prepared a survey on the areas likely to face water shortage. In Dehradun, the urban areas that may face water scarcity are 40 and those in rural areas 125.

The rising gap in demand and supply is proving a problem and the government has taken several measures to handle it. In the last five years, water supply has been increased by 40 mld. The demand fluctuates to275 mld in the summer months.

Since the creation of the state, the government has taken several steps to tide over the problem, consisting mainly of large-scale sector-level reforms through Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and approval of special projects under the Asian Development Bank( ADB).

The authorities are engaged in initiating sectoral reforms in Dehradun, Haridwar and Nainital. In the next phase, 39 more cities will be covered under these projects.

“We are continuing to meet the demand of the people of the state. Surveys like these help us to tackle problem areas,” said HP Uniyal, chief general manager, Jal Sansthan.

A total of Rs 77.78 crore have been released for improving and expanding water supply and storage structures in selected cities. For Dehradun, work is under way on 30 tubewells and 40 overhead water tanks. Already, 10 overhead tanks have been constructed and six have already begun functioning. Work on the four other tanks will be completed soon.

“Our water supply and storage infrastructure was constructed way back in 1937 when the population of the city was only 10,000. Today it is more than 10 lakh. The system is bound to show signs of wear and tear. As much as 95 per cent of water wastage is through leakages. This problem has to be addressed at the basic level, in our houses.

“People need to be educated about water conservation. It is not a perennially available commodity. Proper utility is a must,” emphasised Uniyal.

Under the World Bank-funded project called Swajal Project Management, units have been created to look into the water needs of villagers at the level of one revenue village called the Single Village Scheme.

“The scheme is demand-based with high participation by villagers. Village committees come up with plans after which projects are undertaken. We have achieved high degree of results through Swajal projects in Haridwar and some parts of the hills,” said PC Kimothi, Jal Sansthan. Work is in progress on the Bandal (river) head works in Raipur (Dehradun). The 14-km-long line laid during the British Raj is being repaired at the Water Works Department, Dila Ram Bazar.

“The loss on account of wear and tear is 40 per cent, but once the repair works are over, it will begin supplying 18 mld of water,” said Kimothi. Most of the water needs of Dehradun city are met through underground water as there is little surface water available.

The depleting water table in the city, despite the immense potential by way of its water resources, is worrisome. Experts warn that if urgent steps are not taken, soon demand will outstrip availability. Hence, urgent measures need to be taken to recharge water resources.

As a way forward, Jal Sansthan is also engaged in reviving traditional water resources. Several old aquifers will get a new lease of life with the construction of infiltration well-type hand pumps.

Soon these hand pumps will become a common feature in the lives of the hill people. “In Uttarakhand, we are going to install 90 such pumps where geological surveys point to the existence of traditional ponds or streams.

“In order to make the project people-oriented, Jal Sansthan took inputs from a Ranikhet-based NGO (Pan Himalayan Grass Root Foundation) that undertook a study in Kumaon region, identifying the water resources that needed recharging. “Both heavy and low-lying aquifers need to be recharged. Interaction with local people helped the sansthan in zeroing in on traditional ponds lying defunct due to disuse,” said Kimothi.

Roorkee, March 16
It seems that government needs some more time to take over its official website from IIT Roorkee and run it all by itself from next month.

According to a government decision, taken in a meeting between the secretary, IT Department and IIT experts in July last year, the state government would run the portal after taking over it from IIT, Roorkee from April 1, this year.

But the government is reportedly not prepared yet to handle the project.

According to the IIT team, which has been running the pilot project of e-governance since its inception, it was not possible for the government to run the portal from April 1.

Deputy director of IIT-Roorkee and the project leader Dr HK Verma said, “Yes, we need to hand over the project to the IT Department by March 31. But it’s shocking to see the lethargic approach of the authorities towards the project on which over Rs 15 crore has been spent so far.”

He further said, “The portal would be shut down next month if the government does not take any immediate step.

He further said, “Only 15 days are left to upload the site but there is no development at the government level. The IT officials are yet to set up the required data center at the Secretariat. It takes at least 5 to 6 months to organize things. So, I could not understand how would they run the portal by next month,” said Dr Verma.

Only two formal meetings, one in July and second in October last year, have taken place so far between IIT experts and the IT department officials in this regard, said Verma.

“I am afraid that our entire hard work and the crores of rupees would go down in drain if the project comes to standstill while implementing the government decision,” said Verma.

Admitting that the department is not ready to take over the project, RK Mishra, additional secretary of the IT department, said that he was going to hold a meeting with Dr Verma in a day or two on the issue. “The matter would be solved in the meeting”, said Mishra.

Terming the portal, started by IIT team in 2003, as one of the best in the country, Dr Verma said that a total of 13 online services, including all application forms, tender notices, daily mandi rates, examination results, grievance filing, employment news, are being delivered through this portal.

Since May 1, 2006, the portal received over 22 lakh hits while the figure was around 12 lakh in 2007 (140 exams) and over 17 lakh (175 exams) last year. The large number of hits evinces the popularity of the portal,” said Dr Verma.

Apart from that 30 Suchna Kutirs (information kiosks) have been set up in the remotest villages of the state under this project.

The concept has provided employment to the villagers besides connecting the rural and under-privileged with the world.Despite repeated attempts, the authorities in IT Department could not be contacted for comments.

The project was funded by UNDP, the Uttarakhand government and the Central government.

Dehradun, March 16
The Dehradun Football Association has taken stringent steps to curtail the entry of ‘outside’ players in the football league. Earlier, many outside players had made their way into the teams during crucial matches.

The association has begun the registration process for all clubs players in the city.

Under this process, a club needs to get its new players registered with the association well in advance of the any tournament and the old players need to get their registration renewed before any football league.

Secretary of District Football Association, Devandra Bisht, said, “The association had been facing the problem of outside players participating in tournaments for a long time. Therefore, this time we have decided to ask all clubs to register their new players 20 days ahead of any league. The old players also need to get their registration renewed before any football league.”

Earlier, some clubs used to field outsiders under false names in crucial matches during tournaments. This was done in order to maintain their superiority among the clubs. But the new registration process will put an end to all this. 

The new measures will promote local players.The association provides a three-day period annually to players to take a transfer from one club to another. After this, the players can’t change clubs for another year.