Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 24: Minister for PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control Sham Lal Chaudhary today said that it is moral and social responsibility of every citizen to save water for future generations, as judicious use of water resources is the only way to save this precious natural resource from extinction.
The Minister was speaking at awareness programmes being organized at Government Girls High School and Chuni Lal Memorial Government Higher Secondary School in Chakrohi for educating the students about the benefits of saving water and encouraging them to take part in Big Jammu Run.
The ‘Big Jammu Run – Run to Save Water’ is an initiative of the Communication and Capacity Development Unit (CCDU), Department of PHE, l&FC and Big 92.7 FM, which would be organized at Gulshan Ground, Jammu on January 8, 2017.
Stressing on the need for providing quality education to children, the Minister said that education is the foundation on which the progress of a country depends and it is our responsibility to provide quality education to the children for socio-economic development of our nation.
The Minister directed the teachers to include extra-curricular activities, debate competitions, declamation contests, essay writing competitions, painting contests and sports activities in their curriculum for building skills and confidence among students. He called upon the parents to take interest in the studies of their wards and frequently visit schools for checking their performance.
He said that the participation of youth is very essential for successful completion of any programme, adding that they must come forward and educate the people about the benefits of saving water. He urged them to refrain from throwing garbage in the canals and spread this message as much as they can.
During the programme, the students were also informed that the PHE Department has set up various water testing laboratories in the State for testing the purity of water bring supplied in residential areas.
Later, the Minister distributed uniforms and shoes among the students of both the Government schools.
Earlier in the day, the Minister convened a public grievance redressal camp in which the villagers hailing from Kotli Kalabana, Badyal Brahmana, Sai Khurd, Arnia, Satriyan, Badyal Qazian, Korotana, Bega Bera, Gopad Basti, Shamka, Chakrohi and many other adjoining areas participated.
The villagers apprised the Minister about the problems being faced by them related to power supply, water supply, road connectivity, education, telecom and healthcare. The main demands included construction of tubewells, installation of street lights, upgradation of transformers and macadamization of link roads.
After hearing their demands, the Minister said the State Government is committed to provide every facility to the people at their doorsteps and special stress is being laid on the development of border areas.
Executive Director, CCDU Rajiv Malhotra was also present in the programmes.