Governor, CM inaugurate WSS to meet requirement of Vaishnodevi pilgrims

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Apr 21: N. N. Vohra, Governor and Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister, today jointly inaugurated Rs. 13.65 crore Water Supply Scheme which lifts water from Pai Nallah, near Katra, and supplies it to Adhkwari and Bhavan for meeting the requirements of the Shri Mata Vaishno Deviji pilgrims.
With the commissioning of this scheme, the water supply has been augmented by 6 lakh gallons per day, of which 4 lakh gallons per day will be supplied to Bhavan and 2 lakh gallons to Adhkwari.
Inaugurating the scheme at Nav Devian, Governor, who is the Chairman of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, observed that the successful completion of this important scheme is an excellent example of the very close coordination between the Shrine Board and the State Government for providing satisfactory facilities and arrangements for the ever growing pilgrimage, which crossed the one crore mark last year.
The Governor observed that the decision to implement the Pai Nallah Water Scheme was taken at a meeting, held on 5th September 2009, which was jointly chaired by the Governor and the Chief Minister, where it was decided that the total cost of the scheme would be equally shared by the Shrine Board and the State Government.
The Governor further observed that several other similar infrastructural projects, for meeting the requirements of the pilgrimage, have already been completed. He said that the Shrine Board has a very significant stake in the planned and orderly development of the Katra town and all its surrounding areas and, in this context, he has been having regular periodic meetings with the Chief Minister as well as with the other concerned Ministers.
The Governor reiterated the need for the planning and execution of additional water supply schemes to meet the future requirements of the Shrine and the Katra area, both of which have been growing at a fast pace. He also stressed the need for organised efforts for rain water harvesting and watershed programmes being implemented within given time frames. It is also necessary for the ground water aquifers being recharged through large scale plantation and greening of the area. He mentioned that the Shrine Board has been making serious efforts in this regard and, in the past three years, over two lakh saplings have already been planted while an equal number are planned to be put in the ground in the coming months.
The Chief Minister complimented the PHE Department for executing the Pai Nallah project in two and a half years against the initially targeted period of three years. While underlining the importance for exploring all possible sources for the augmentation of water supply in this entire area, the Chief Minister informed that the Government has already taken up another multi crore scheme for augmenting the water supply to Katra town.
Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Taj Mohi-ud-Din stated that the Pai Nallah Scheme, funded equally by the Shine Board and the State Government, has involved the laying of almost 12 km of pipeline from the source to the final outlet. He stated that it is a six-stage scheme which has a 30,000 GPH filtration plant at Nav Devian.
Amongst others the inauguration ceremony was attended by Nasir Aslam Wani, Minister of State for Home and PHE, Jugal Kishore, MLC, Baldev Raj Sharma, MLA Reasi, Jagjeevan Lal, former Minister, B. D. Sharma, Commissioner/ Secretary PHE, Dr. M. K. Bhandari, Additional Chief Executive Officer, SMVDSB, B. R. Dogra, Chief Engineer, PHE and other senior officers of the State Government and the Shrine Board.