Uttarakhand: Old wells will be renovated, government will give a new look, CM Dhami gave instructions to run a special campaign

The state government is going to take care of decades old wells. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has given instructions to renovate these old wells. For this, a comprehensive verification campaign of wells will be conducted. Also, they will be revived again through maintenance.

Since ancient times, wells have been the source of sweet and clean water from villages to cities. They also have religious and cultural significance. Wells in many places are witnesses to historical events. But with time, due to changing the water supply system, the use of wells kept on decreasing.

At present, wells have become victims of encroachment or neglect in many places. But now the state government is going to maintain the wells once again. For this, CM Dhami has given instructions to revive them by cleaning the wells extensively before the rains. In rural areas also, wells will be revived by cleaning them through various government schemes.

Efforts to save water sources under SARA

According to the government spokesperson, the state government is trying to conserve water sources through the Spring and River Rejuvenation Authority (SARA) under the Game Changer Scheme. A total of 6350 dry (critical) water sources have been identified under the Water Conservation Campaign 2024. 929 sources important for drinking water and irrigation have been treated. Also, 297 recharge shafts have been constructed for groundwater recharge in the plains. Last year, 3.21 million cubic meters of rainwater was recharged by the construction of various water storage and storage structures.

The Prime Minister had urged for conservation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his speech on Uttarakhand State Foundation Day on November 9, had urged the people of the state to speed up the campaigns for water cleanliness by conserving their Naulas, Dharaas. He had said in his speech that there has been a tradition of worshiping their Naulas Dharaas in Uttarakhand. In this sequence, the state government is going to start a campaign to conserve wells.

Wells have been an important part of our civilization. There are many ancient wells from cities to villages. Our effort is to bring them into use again, this will also promote water conservation efforts. Along with this, natural sources of clean water will also be preserved.

– Pushkar Singh Dhami, Chief Minister

CM Dhami gave instructions to make SOP for better crowd management, environmental management, ban on single-use plastic in the Yatra

The proposed Nanda Rajjat ​​Yatra in 2026 will be celebrated as a folk festival. There should be maximum participation of local people in the journey and the government should be in the role of a supporter. Records related to Nanda Devi Rajjat ​​Yatra will be preserved. The records of the journey will be written and preserved with the help of Garhwal and Kumaon University. These instructions were given by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in a meeting held in the Secretariat regarding the preparations for the Nanda Rajjat ​​Yatra.

The Chief Minister said that this journey is the heritage of Uttarakhand. He directed the officials to widely publicize the Nanda Devi Rajjat ​​Yatra in the country and abroad. Nanda Devi Rajjat ​​Yatra will also be spread all over the world through Indian embassies, as well as motivate them to join this journey. Through this journey, Uttarakhand has to be connected with foreign countries as well and given a historical form. He said that the imprint of Uttarakhand’s culture, tradition, costumes, musical instruments should be visible in the Rajjat ​​Yatra. For this, the Culture Department was instructed to prepare an action plan. He said that the department should make such arrangements for folk artists so that they get paid regularly.

The Chief Minister asked the local public representatives and officials to hold a meeting with the stakeholders related to the Yatra and include their suggestions in the action plan. So that the Yatra can be conducted in a better way. He said that the route of the Yatra is in the high Himalayan region and is sensitive. SOP should be made for better crowd management, disaster management from environmental point of view, ban on single-use plastic. Along with the Yatra route, arrangements should be made for identification and improvement of alternative routes, small parking in populated villages, drinking water, toilets, eco tent colony, beautification of ravines, electricity etc. Better network should be ensured in the Yatra route. He also directed to identify temporary and permanent works in the Yatra route and start the work by providing government approval for permanent structures within a month. Along with identification of landslide areas, the Disaster Department was also instructed to keep sufficient number of JCBs, Poklands as well as operators deployed on the route as per requirement.

In the meeting, Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj said that the yatra will start from Nandastami of Bhadra Paksha in 2026. It is a 280 km journey of about 20 days in which 20 km is on foot. This is the journey from mother Nanda’s maternal home to in-laws’ house, which is from Kasuwa near Nauti to Homkund.

MLA Anil Nautiyal, MLA Bhupal Ram Tamta, Vice President Infrastructure Monitoring Development Council Vishwas Dabur, Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan, Principal Secretary R.K. Sudhansh, Secretary Nitesh Jha, Mrs. Radhika Jha, Shailesh Bagoli, Pankaj Pandey, Sachin Kurve, Commissioner Garhwal Vinay Shankar Pandey, Vinod Kumar Suman and other secretaries were present in the meeting.