Blue census, Water census...
The Uttar Pradesh State Water and Sanitation Mission (SWSM) will soon be documenting the drinking water resources across six zones of the state. These zones are Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Varanasi and Moradabad. The documentation - to be done through Geographical Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) mapping - will take note of ponds (manmade and natural), wells and handpumps. This exercise which is a part of the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) will help the officials to create a proper database of these resources, which will be used for their management.
Through the mapping, all the details of all the resources will be compiled, complete with their longitude and latitude dimensions. The department plans to start off the exercise by April 1, 2011 and should end by March 31, 2012. The focus will initially be on villages where the drinking water condition is really bad in summer and this data will be mapped within three months. This would help the authorities to finalise plans for providing emergency relief to these villages. After the mapping, the details will be given to the selected civil society organisations in these villages, who will then do a regular monitoring of the water quality.
Through the mapping, all the details of all the resources will be compiled, complete with their longitude and latitude dimensions. The department plans to start off the exercise by April 1, 2011 and should end by March 31, 2012. The focus will initially be on villages where the drinking water condition is really bad in summer and this data will be mapped within three months. This would help the authorities to finalise plans for providing emergency relief to these villages. After the mapping, the details will be given to the selected civil society organisations in these villages, who will then do a regular monitoring of the water quality.
