Visakhapatnam: Amid the growing concerns over water availability in several cities of the country, the Vizag chapter of the Andhra Pradesh Federation of Resident Welfare Associations (APFERWAS) has launched an ambitious plan of rainwater harvesting.
It has appealed to its 150 member RWAs, spread across the six zones of Vizag city, between Gajuwaka in the south and Madhurawada in the north, to construct at least five Rainwater Harvesting (RWH)pits in each of these colonies in the coming two months.
This is expected to translate to an impressive total of about 750 RWH pits. The simple procedure of constructing a RWH pit has been distributed to all these RWAs by APFERWAS. It is planned to inaugurate all these 750 pits on June 5, marking World Environment Day 2024.
APFERWAS president Uday Shirname said that the whole world is now facing a severe water crisis. “Many Indian cities are reeling under drought conditions. Some cities do not even have drinking water. According to the reports of the India Meteorological Department, temperatures will be higher this year. In cities like Bangalore and Chennai, borewells are already running dry,” said Shirname.
“The main reason for this is our irresponsible water management: we are not conserving it; (we are)wasting it, and encroaching upon ponds for multi-storied buildings, among other things. Our immediate duty is therefore to conserve water, especially rainwater. RWH pits can be a long-term and permanent solution for water conservation. If we wake up now and start this process, within a few years, our groundwater levels will improve without further depletion,” said Shirname.
Associate president Dr. K. S. R. Murthy and secretary M. Durga Prasad said that directing rainwater into the ground through collection channels is a highly effective way to increase groundwater levels.
“Some of the RWAs in our APFERWAS have already started this process and are achieving excellent results. Our federation has approximately 150 RWAs. We aim to set up at least 4-5 pits in each RWA. Importantly, these should be installed in parks, roadsides, or wherever rainwater collects in the colony.
“We will provide RWAs with information on designing and constructing rainwater harvesting pits. We will be posting images of some sample pits. We have asked the RWAs to select locations that avoid interfering with civic facilities like footpaths and underground cables. We are planning to start all these rainwater harvesting pits at a time on June 5,” said Dr Murthy and Durga Prasad.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/vizag-to-harvest-rain-water-in-a-big-way/articleshow/108926640.cms
