Morung Express News
Dimapur | March 22
An international annual observance of Water Day was observed today in Dimapur district by various government departments. The programme was organized in consequence with this year’s theme ‘Leaving no one behind’ at District Soil Conservation Office, Dimapur.
Deputy Commissioner, Dimapur Kevekha Kevin Zehol, who was speaking at the event, noted a global concern stating that declining freshwater resources and water scarcity will become a leading cause of socio-political conflict in the future.
Towards this, he pointed the dangers nearer home where our people’s attitude of securing land and resources for oneself at the cost of damaging water bodies poses a huge threat in the state.
The DC then mentioned that our lack of civic sense are directly attributed to poor drainages or locking flow of water especially in urban habitation like Dimapur. He also referred of the state and stated that as per reports, “water level has rapidly gone down.”
Unequal distribution of water and acute shortage of clean or fresh water in many places especially Kohima, inspite of sufficient annual rainfall and huge forest cover in the state was saddening, he observed.
To this, the DC called various concerned departments to coordinate and added “work together as a team, don’t replicate.”
He also called them to converge together for initiating actions and interventions towards water security, management and conservation and appealed them to work with full commitment rather than for the purpose of fulfilling targets set for a scheme.
AS Hovuto Zhimomi, DSCO delivering the keynote address noted that more than 2.1 billions around the world today live without access to clean drinking water.
He also added that even as we are blessed with high rainfall in the world, water shortage, he observed was “due to lack of water conservation methods.”
Water being the most valuable resource on our planet, and describing it as a “benevolent” natural resource, opined that “a little effort on the part of individual in taking care of what we have play huge importance that will go towards conservation.”
He also observed that in Dimapur, one form of pollution causing grave danger of contaminating underground and freshwater bodies from repair shops or garages seen plenty around the town and in vicinity of the town.
“A careless and casual management of small amount of auto fluids, solvents and chemicals can contaminate huge gallons of water.” He also appealed for looking into measures to tackle such concerns among others.
PowerPoint presentations from Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Department of Water Resources.
The event was organised by Dimapur district's department of Soil Conservation and various water user Department. Earlier, Khonzani Kithan, JSCO chaired the programme.
