The Swiss development agency has agreed to fund a project on revival of natural sources of water, including streams and springs, in Pulwama district.
Finance minister HaseebDrabu said that the Swiss development agency in India has agreed to provide Rs 25 crore “outside the government purview” for the ambitious project.
The work on the project is likely to begin in March 2018. “This programme is aimed at rejuvenating the dying springs on which a major chunk of the rural population still depends for their daily water needs. Also many of these springs have immense historical and cultural value. A rich tradition of folklore is associated with some of the springs like the Himal-Naegria spring. So the project is also designed for revival of cultural heritage,” said Drabu.
He said that as a part of the project, the Swiss development agency will be launching an intensive awareness campaign by holding seminars, arranging visits of senior concerned government officials to places where the work on springs’ revival is going on and also build the capacity of officials in spring management.
“To stem the decline in spring yields, the project will investigate options for recharge and retention of rainwater in the landscape through protection of natural infiltration zones and development of additional recharge opportunities,” Drabu said and added that in the next step, he would approach the World Bank for funding a project in the area for revival of natural sources of irrigation.
He said the springs’ rejuvenation programme would also create an online atlas of springs in the area which could be accessed easily for reference.
He said the Swiss development agency will be also organising a workshop for journalists in the state to promote reporting on climate change and spring preservation.
The drying up of springs or their becoming seasonal in J&K has been attributed to growing impacts of population increase, erosion of top soils, erratic rainfall patterns, deforestation, forest fires, and development activities (road building, building construction, etc.) adversely impacting the spring catchments. Consequently, a limited amount of rainwater infiltrates to recharge the groundwater, thereby creating a hydrological imbalance.
Kashmir had been a land of numerous water springs until recent past and almost every village and town housed water springs, which remained as major sources of drinking and irrigation water. Some major water streams including river Jhelum, Lidder, Rambiara, Vaishaw and Kokernag owe their origin to springs. However, in the past four decades, most of the springs have decayed, and there is hardly any spring left in rural areas now. And if any, it is at the verge of death. The Swiss development agency has undertaken such initiatives in several parts of the world, including Sikkim in India.