One-day brainstorming workshop on Jal Jeevan Mission in Ladakh

LEH, January 10:  A day-long brainstorming workshop on Jal Jeevan Mission was organized by District Water and Sanitation Mission, Leh and PHED, Ladakh at Hotel Zen, Leh for the officials of PHED, Leh division.

In his inaugural address, Commissioner/Secretary, PHE, A K Sahu stated that the success of Jal Jeevan Mission in Ladakh is the result of overwhelming community ownership and the relentless work of the JJM workforce who must feel proud of their achievement so far.

He said that many of the officials went out of their way to ensure the success of JJM schemes in tough rural areas even in harsh winters. He said that this kind of commitment and conviction is imperative to achieve the objectives of JJM. Further, he added that transparency and public participation are of utmost importance for the success of JJM in Ladakh.

Commissioner/Secretary, Sahu further stated that the purpose of the brainstorming session is not just to revel in success stories but to address the gaps and effectively chalk out a way forward for the future. He urged the participants to learn from one another and observe one’s own shortcomings to have a clear direction and be able to work with commitment.

He said the next task at hand is to strengthen and stabilise the system to make it sustainable and also to devise an effective O&M Strategy.

Deputy Commissioner, Leh, Shrikant Suse in his keynote address stressed capacity building and awareness in villages for community ownership of the water supply schemes.

In the brainstorming sessions, the participants deliberated on various topics including JJM issues and challenges; winter management strategies; community partnership and grievances handling and management; operation and maintenance plan; innovations and new techniques, etc. The participants voiced their concerns and obstacles while executing certain tasks and sought guidance from the team. The participants also explored solutions for sustainable and judicious use of water to address the water scarcity in Ladakh.

Earlier in the day, Dr Sandesh Rajpurohit (PMU) gave a presentation on progress and learning; issues and challenges of JJM in Ladakh; Case studies were presented by Lundup Jamyang (AEE-PHE) and Videos on JJM were presented by Norboo Tundup (IEC).

Additionally, Comm/Secy, Sahu exhorted that the drying up of Springs is a grave issue and instructed the officials for Spring mapping and also asked to chalk out interventions with robust action plans to restore the Springs. Further, Comm/Secy, Sahu reiterated that the success of Jal Jeevan Mission shall ensure clean and safe water supply to all thereby also combating disease and malnutrition associated with the consumption of unsafe water.

In his closing remarks, Commissioner/Secretary, Sahu congratulated all the participants for successfully completing the sessions and urged the officials to drop any lackadaisical attitude and work with full vigour and enthusiasm.

Prior to the workshop, a meeting of the Executive Committee on Jal Jeevan Mission was also held chaired by Comm/Secy, Sahu wherein the concerned officials discussed the status of various aspects of JJM viz. FHTC connection; Grey Water Management; Skill Development and Employment Generation; Women Empowerment; Source Sustainability; Social Audit and Physical Verification, amongst others.