New Delhi: The succes of Kosi river rejuvenation project can be replicated in other places too. This is the opinion of Nitin Bhadauria, District Magistrate of Almora in Uttarakhand. He was speaking at the first edition of virtual ‘Global Water Management Conclave’ organised recently by APAC News Network in association with the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti.
‘Kosi is the largest river flowing through our district and from 2009, the water flow reduced to such an extent that it turned from a perennial river to seasonal river. Detailed geomorphical and GIS based studies were carried on by GB Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and Kumaon University. We formed 14 recharge zones and different activities were carried out there. The pillars of this project were sustainability, replicability, transparency, accountability and cost effectiveness,’ said Bhadauria.
Highlighting the importance of community participation, he said that the District Administration involved people from every group including children and made it a people’s movement. Activities involving mass participation such as Kosi cleanup drives, cycling marathons, rallies, etc. were planned.
He added,’ Suitable recognitions were given to the participants based on their contribution to keep people motivated. The project has also earned a number of awards and accolades including Limca Book of World Records for planting maximum number of trees in shortest duration. We received support from every quarter and this project can be replicated elsewhere as well.’
