Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 25: Minister for PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control, Sham Lal Sharma has sought the support of various stakeholders for conservation and judicious use of water. He has stressed the need for coordinated efforts to deal with this sensitive issue, saying that conservation of water is need of the hour and this can only be possible with the support of entire society.
Speaking at the Annual General Body Meeting (AGM) of Central Government Pensioners’ Welfare Association (CGPWA) held at Police Officers’ Mess here today, the Minister said that Government has already decided to protect all traditional sources of water like, ponds, bowalies, nullahs for domestic use, whereas the check dams will be constructed in kandi areas of the State to raise the water table.
Maintaining that water is the fundamental need of every human being, Mr. Sham said that Government will make every possible effort to provide safe drinking water to all uncovered areas. He said Central Government has been providing sufficient funds for the essential sectors, including PHE and a well-thought strategy will be devised to make optimum use of resources to create sustainable water resources in all three regions of the State.
Appreciating the CGPWA for its valuable contribution towards the welfare of the society, the Minister said that the suggestions of the Association will be taken into account to improve the drinking water scenario and harvesting the rain water in the State.
In his welcome address, President, CGPWA, S.S.Wazir, informed the gathering about the initiatives which the Association has taken for the welfare of the members and for the civil society.
V.P. Sharma, Patron, CGPWA who is a noted Geologist and Environmentalist, gave an illuminating and well illustrated power point presentation on the topic “Geo-environmental Status of J&K and its impact on the civil society”.
He focused on the burning issues related to the environment and the role of geology and geological processes in environment. He stressed the need for coordinated efforts for the conservation of environment and water bodies for safe tomorrow.
On the occasion, the Association felicitated six candidates from the State who cracked the 2012 IFS Examination. They were given mementoes by the Minister on behalf of the Association. The candidates are; Dr. Gulshan Kumar Sharma, Shweta Jandial, Dr. Nandi Salaria, Dr. Bilal Mahmood, Renu Sharma and Nisha Goswami.
As a part of traditions of the Association, three senior members of the organization namely, Prof. Ved Ghai, M. Shamsuddin and V.P. Sharma were honored as Jeyshth Vrishth Nagrik on attaining 80 years of age. They were presented with mementoes by the Minister. In addition, V.P. Sharma was also felicitated with life time achievement for his commendable services to the Association and civil society.
On the occasion, the Minister and office bearers of Association released Pensioners’ Journal-2013 and Telephone Directory of the Association.
Hundreds of members of the Association from across the State were present on the occasion. Prominent among those included, former Chief Secretary, S. S. Kapur, former Chairman, PSC Mr. M. S. Pandit, former Vice Chancellor, BGSBU, Masood Choudhary.
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