Khandwa: Roshan Kumar Singh, Chief Executive Officer of District Panchayat received the first prize for Best Motivational District for River Reclamation at the second National Water Awards were presented by Union Ministry of Water Resources and River Development at a program held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu.
The district earned the award, 3381 districts of country, for reviving Kaveri River from the verge of extinction. The district administration took up the initiative in 2019 to plant more than 2.5 lakh saplings in riverbed under the River Rejuvenation Program.
Singh said Kaveri passes through 51 villages of 3 development blocks of district and since its reclamation the agricultural production has also increased.
He added that the 54 km long river used to have water for 6 months and since its resuscitation it has become perennial. Not just this The area of ??irrigation has additionally increased by 3.5 lakh hectares due to revival. The district administration has achieved the fete by spending over Rs 235 crore, employing 2.5 lakh labourers in the span of 11 months.
Collector Ananya Dwivedi said that revival work is underway for Ruparel and Kaveri. She added that the villagers were mobilized to contribute to the river reclamation.
The villagers were made aware of the project and they contributed whole heartedly to the various works including improving the catchment of the river, said Dwivedi.
Dwivedi added that, the villages, agriculture, livestock well being, sanitation, livelihood among others are all set to benefit from the reclaimed Kaveri. The project not just guarantees growth of villagers on the either sides of the river but it has also help in creating ‘we feeling’ among them, added Dwivedi.
