BOMDILA, 10 Oct: Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) MD Tomo Basar discussed the roles and responsibilities of the village water & sanitation committees (VWSC)/implementing support agencies (ISA), catchment area protection, the Nal Jal Mitra programme, and source adoption with members of the VWSCs and the ISAs, besides representatives of the panchayati raj institutions and field officers of the Bomdila PHED division in West Kameng district recently.
Basar is on a four-day visit to East Kameng, West Kameng and Tawang districts.
During a meeting, the JJM MD emphasised the need for preserving and protecting the catchment areas to ensure continuous supply of clean water. He briefly discussed the Catchment Area Protection Act also.
Representatives of the VWSCs and the ISAs shared the challenges they face in protecting the catchment area.
Basar highlighted the importance of the Nal Jal Mitra programme as a sustainable approach to water supply management, and explained the concept of appointing ‘water friends’ as community influencers responsible for ensuring on-time maintenance and usage of water supply systems.
The appointed nal jal mitra will undergo a rigorous two-month training in dealing with electrical, mechanical and other equipment/parts related to water supply.
Basar also stressed on the importance of communities taking ownership and maintaining the local water sources. He appealed to the VWSC/field agents to identify critical and sub-critical water sources, and apprised the participants of the various technologies related to water supply and JJM, such as Internet of Things, SCADA, electro-chlorinator, etc. (DIPRO)
