Long term measures are being taken to address problem of water scarcity in cities: CM Rawat

By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 9 Dec: Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat laid the foundation stone for the construction work of the 32-metre span double lane bridge on the Tons River near the Virpur post in km 1.00 of Garhi Cantt-Virpur-Ghangoda motorway in the Mussoorie assembly constituency of Dehradun at a cost of Rs 237.58 lakhs and Rising Man, Tube Well and Pump House in Garhi-Dakra (Cantt area) to be constructed at a cost of Rs 172.22 lakh on Sunday. Along with it, Chief Minister agreed to consider the proposal for having overhead tanks in the area. Also in the area, the work of beautification of the Santala Devi Temple and the repair of the roads will also be completed by February next. Chief Minister said that for the early solution of the problems of Cantt, soon talks will be held with the Ministry of Defence.
He said that the government is working with sustainable and far-sighted approach. Under increasing population pressure, long term measures are being taken to address the problem of water scarcity in the cities. The Song Dam project to be built at a cost of Rs. 1100 crores, will provide 24-hour water supply to the entire Dehradun district for 35 years till 2053. This will save electricity worth Rs 100 crores. Tourism will also be developed on four and a half kilometer long and 128 meter high lake and adjoining areas. This dam and lake will be the new center of tourist attraction. Local people will get good employment opportunities too. It has been appreciated at the level of the Government of India that it is a model project for the country. Other states will also adopt it. Such technology is being used in Song Dam that continuous construction work will progress except for rainy days and it will be completed within record 350 days. Song project will provide gravity based water supply till Raipur area. Chief Minister said that we are moving towards long term and sustainable solutions. Another project like Song Dam will also be made in Maldhung Dehradun.
Along with this the tender process of the Solar Project is complete. Under this, gravity based water will be supplied to 43 villages and it will save electricity worth Rs. 7 crore. Farmers will get water for twelve months. With the saving of electricity expenditure, we will be able to provide affordable electricity to people and farmers. In the coming time, 60 per cent population of entire district Dehradun will get gravity based water supply.
Chief Minister said that the state government is working with long term thinking and is doing the work of rejuvenation of the Rispana and other rivers along with plantation of trees so that the coming generations can get adequate water. We are working with sustainable thinking. The gas pipeline scheme, which will start soon, is for the entire Dehradun and we plan that this gas pipeline should reach in remote villages of the entire state in the coming 10-12 years. This will reduce our gas costs by 20 per cent. The energy used to transport gas will also be saved. Pollution will be low and environmental worry will get reduced. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s effort is to make diesel and petrol vehicles out of use by year 2030. So, the Government of India has also waived the fees for electric vehicles. Prime Minister is of the opinion that if the country is to be healthy and strong, then the environment should be protected and it should be clean. TS Rawat said that this government is your own government. He said that in the recent past more than sixty people, including senior officials, have gone to jail in corruption cases. It is our responsibility that we do not allow any corruption in the state. There is no shortage of resources in the state; we can do a lot with whatever resources are there. But we realized that a lot goes in the pocket of corrupt. People have given us the responsibility to stop corruption and we are continuously working on it.
On this occasion MLA Ganesh Joshi and CEO Cantt Zakir Hussain were present.