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Water supply to be strengthened in Leh and Kargil as Ladakh stares at draught-like situation

Last Updated on May 6, 2021 at 6:15 pm

Commissioner/Secretary, PHE/IFC, AK Sahu, today reviewed the progress of the PHE/I&FC department at the UT Secretariat and also took stock of the progress made in various projects under these sectors.

After the direction from the LG, RK Mathur, the PHE/I&FC department has prepared a draught management plan for both the district to meet the challenges expected to be arising considering less snowfall this year.

People filling cans with water. Pic courtesy: Reach Ladakh

Reviewing the draught plan and the status of procurement of solar pumps, Commissioner Secretary Sahu directed concerned officials of both the districts to purchase solar pumps as per the draught plan. He further directed the concerned officials to construct ponds in both districts to store the unused water during the winter. He also asked the engineers to adopt innovative technologies to avoid water seepage in ponds storage.

While reviewing AIBP/FMP Projects, Commissioner Secretary asked both the districts to prepare a DPR and submit a plan under AIBP of at least 1000 hectares for irrigation in each district.

For the early completion of the Parkachik Irrigation Canal, Commissioner Secretary Sahu impressed upon the engineers to expedite the work and submit the audit report and the physical financial progress report within five days.

The Parkachik Irrigation canal, which is 18 km in length, is one of the major irrigation projects in the Kargil district. The engineers informed Commissioner Secretary Sahu that the irrigation canal commissioned up to 12km stays charged and benefits 1,500 people.

Commissioner Secretary Sahu also reviewed the SDP and State Plan in PHE/IFC sectors. He directed the officials of both the districts to hire a consultant to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) to provide a 24×7 water supply in both districts. The proposed project would include GIS mapping of existing infrastructure, piped networks and adoption of suitable winter-friendly technology to ensure a 24×7 water supply throughout the year. An IoT-based SCADA system would manage the entire system.

Similarly, Secretary Commissioner Sahu reviewed the status of the implementation of JJM. He instructed both the district to provide 3,000 functional household tap connection every month to achieve the target fixed by the Ladakh Administration. Commissioner Secretary informed that Ladakh should provide 31,000 FHTCs to households.

He further directed Engineers to complete all the pending projects within a stipulated time frame. He also directed DC Kargil and Chief Engineers to review the progress of all the projects regularly.

Chief Engineer, PHE; Superintendent Engineer PHE/IFC, Kargil/Leh; Executive Engineer PHE, Kargil/Leh; Executive Engineer, IFC, Kargil/Leh; Joint Director Planning and Chief Agricultural Officer, Kargil/Leh attended the meeting.