State to restore jhoras to check drinking water scarcity in Hills

Kolkata: The state Panchayat and Rural Development department has chalked out an elaborate plan to restore the springs known as Jhoras in common parlance to resolve the drinking water issue.

This is for the first time when schemes have been taken to bring the springs back to life in order to address the scarcity of drinking water in the hills.

The spring shed development project known as Jharna Dhara will help in bringing the Jhoras back to life. Supervisors known as 'Dhara Sevak' have been trained for proper implementation of the scheme. Gorkhaland Territorial Administration ( GTA) is assisting the project.

It may be mentioned that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has taken the initiative to carry out all-round development in the hills. She also held a two-day business summit to plan economic regeneration of the hills. She has visited the hills over and again to gain confidence of the locals.

The Panchayat and Rural Development department has identified 600 jhoras that will be regenerated. These Jhoras are situated in Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong. The Jhoras are the prime source of rinking water in the hills. There are four main reasons for the crisis of drinking water in Darjeeling and its neighbourhood. They are uneven rainfall, deforestation, unplanned urbanization and drying up of the Jhoras.

The Dhara Sevaks are identifying the Jhoras along with the discharge points and recharge points. Four NGOs, Acquadam, Aghryan, Prasari and Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation have joined hands with the Panchayat and Rural Development department for successful implementation of the scheme. Work is on to restore 36 springs and plans have been taken to restore 300 more. To restore the Jhoras, their origination points have been cleaned and plantation has been done in some areas. For protection of the Jhoras, walls made of concrete have been constructed. The Dhara Sevaks have been given Eco projectors and they are going to the villages to create awareness among the locals. There is an overwhelming response from the villagers who are suffering from drinking water crisis for many years. Now, the villagers have come forward to help in the restoration of the Jhoras.

The Dhara Sevaks are watching the discharge rate of water from the Jhoras and are keeping the statistics.

Senior officials of the Panchayat and Rural Development department held meetings with the managers of the tea gardens in Kolkata and Siliguri for restoration of the Jhoras that are situated inside the tea gardens. The tea garden managers have also assured to support the scheme as it will minimise the drinking water crisis in the tea gardens.