250 people join hands to clean Thanwala step well
Ahead of the monsoons, about 250 people, mainly women from the village of Thanwala in Ahore panchayat of Jalore district in Rajasthan got together and cleaned up the historic step well.
The barely used step well had been dry for a few years but the exercise helped clean the well of accumulated debris and waste. It is hoped that the monsoons will help recharge the well.
This was observed by a Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) team that visited the step well and other water bodies and assessed the water conservation efforts of the district administration on 30th July, 2019. Jalore district comprises 8 Blocks all of which are water stressed.
The team comprised Central Nodal Officer (CNO) – Smt. Anuradha Prasad, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Government of India, New Delhi; Block Nodal Officer (BNO) – Mr. Chandrakant Rijoniya, Director, Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice; Technical Officer (TO) – Mr. Junaid Ahmed, (TO) Central Ground Water Board, Pune; and Technical Officer (TO) – Mr. Deb Jyoti Mondal, (TO) Central Ground Water Board, Hyderabad.
The step well cleaning programme was undertaken by way of a ‘Shramdan’ programme which was aimed to create awareness about keeping traditional water bodies in good condition for storage of water.
Revival of the step well on 30th July, just ahead of monsoon was a timely move. In the past the water of such step wells was used by the residents of the area for drinking and other purposes.
[ The Blog was first published on https://jalshakti.wordpress.com/]
