Water scarcity: Acharya says answer is pouring in the rain

Dimapur, April 13 (EMN): Governor PB Acharya has suggested adopting water harvesting (letting accumulate and storing rainwater for reuse) method in Nagaland. To encourage citizens to adopt this method, he has announced 50% cost subsidy for a 1000 litre water tank within Kohima town for the first 20 applicants. This was informed through a press release from the Raj Bhavan on Friday. According to the governor, the Raj Bhavan will procure the water tanks and once the applicants have ‘made all arrangements to set up the water tank at their home or office’ the storage will be ‘released’ at subsidised prices. “Governor Acharya stated that rainwater was the need of the hour. Making the switch to an eco-friendly rainwater harvesting system is neither complicated nor time-consuming and will result in a wide range of benefits for one’s home or business, he added,” the press release read. It informed that the governor had discussed the issue with Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on April 12 at the Raj Bhavan. “He stated that under his initiative, Raj Bhavan is on the verge of completing a 1.5 lakh litres water harvesting reservoir. The governor also mentioned that water tanks have been put in various locations of the Raj Bhavan compound to harvest rain water. “Governor Acharya opined that since most parts of the state see rainfall for six months or more, rain water harvesting will be beneficial for the people. He encouraged citizens to set up water tanks and harvest the rain water to address the water scarcity problem in the state. Application for the subsidy can be submitted to the Governor’s Secretariat, Raj Bhavan Kohima. One can contact (0370) 2245789 during office hours for further details,” the press release stated. Also, the governor told the chief minister about his meeting with representatives of the Gayatri Project Limited concerning issues of completion of the four-lane road on time. He was said to have requested the construction firm to submit weekly reports of progress to his office. Acharya has urged Rio to ‘ensure basic amenities for the labours working at the site,’ it stated.