Amid lockdown, Guj govt's water conservation scheme begins

Ahmedabad, Apr 21 () Amid the lockdown for thecoronavirus outbreak, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani onTuesday gave the green signal for the third edition of hisgovernment's 'Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan' , aconservation plan to deepen water bodies in the state beforemonsoon.

The scheme, which will continue till June 10, will seethe deepening of lakes, check dams and rivers by removingsilt, and it will be done with people's participation as wellas under MNREGA, said Ashwani Kumar, secretary, ChiefMinister's Office.

He expressed confidence it would create employmentopportunities for the rural population amid the lockdown,adding that norms in place to combat the coronavirus outbreakwill be adhered to while carrying out works under the scheme.

"Apart from maintaining social distancing, localauthorities need to provide masks and sanitizers to theworkers," he added.

The soil excavated during the drive will be given freeof cost to farmers, he told reporters in Gandhinagar.

The scheme was started in 2018 after a weak monsoon,and till date, the state's water storage capacity hasincreased by 23,000 lakh cubic feet due to deepening pf lakes,check-dams, rivers and reservoirs, said Kumar. PJT PDBNM BNM