Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar presented the state government’s project ‘jal dhoro jal bhoro’ (preserve water reserve water) in a recent seminar at Germany.
The project – a brainchild of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee – has already gained much appreciation nationally.
The initiative of Jal Dharo Jal Bharo was taken upunder the initiative of Banerjee in 2011, soon after she became the Chief Minister of the state.
She declared the project in Writers Buildings – under which a slew of activities were listed.
The project includes restructuring the shore of water bodies – around 50,000 ponds for micro irrigation purpose.
The work started under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, in which Bengal is the front runner across the nation. In less than four years 1,20,000 ponds have been dug in the State.
During her speech at the seminar, Ghosh Dastidar described how Bengal government’s achievement in conserving nature and proper reservation of water.
The international seminar which was taken place at the German parliament was based on global warming and water.
Ghosh Dastidar explained Jal dhoro jal bhoro in front of the parliamentarians and the dignified guests who were also invited there.
The Trinamool MP earlier had described the state made project in a parliamentary session at Delhi, which received much appreciation among the MPs. Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan requested Dastidar, who is the member of standing committee of minister of home affairs, to deliver her speech at the international seminar on global warming and water in Germany. The speaker’s letter reached the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as well. Later, Ghosh Dastidar had flown to Germany and gave her speech on November 6.
However, the rain water harvesting project is now also providing livelihood through fisheries developed in these ponds. The target for 2014-2015, of over 57,000 hectares of land under minor irrigation sector has been achieved. The target for 2015-2016 was 62,000 hectares. The work is going on.
“This will give significant boost to agricultural productivity in the State”, the Chief Minister had said about this project.