DIMAPUR, Sept 29 � Nagaland has earned the distinction of being the first State in the country to have an innovative water solution technology project � �Solar powered water treatment Unit� in three villages of the State capital.
Nagaland PHED Minister Noke Wangnao officially inaugurated the water treatment unit at Tsiesema village, about 13 kms away from the state capital Kohima, while two others units have already been installed and are functional in Meriema and Kijumetouma village.
These are the most water scarce villages of Kohima district, Wangnao said in his inaugural address while stating that the project is funded by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India under the new programme launched in the year 2009 -- The National Rural Drinking Water Program (NRDWP).
Mumbai-based company Adittya Corporation developed the solar powered water treatment unit in order to provide sustainable good quality water supply system to the villages, he said.
In Nagaland, he said due to the peculiar nature of the topography of the land and the unique cultural and social practices, more and more villages are emerging where all primarily preferred options such as water supply by gravity or bore wells are not possible.
�This entails that we have to look for other options and technologies in the form of rain water harvesting system, water supply by pumping and revival of traditional wells,� Wangnao added.
Despite the fact that huge infrastructure have been created for providing drinking water supply to villages during the last few decades, he said the Government in general and PHE Department in particular are facing the unprecedented challenges in its mission to provide water security in the villages and at household level in the State.
Highlighting the challenges, he said out of a total of 1,530 villages/ habitations in the State, 1027 villages/ habitations (i.e., about 67 per cent) fall under partially covered category with water supply level less than 40 litres per capita per day. Most of these villages which have been provided with drinking water facility at one time, have actually far outlived their designed life needing urgent repair and replacement which requires huge funds.
Many of the villages are situated on top of hills with very small and undependable water sources or with a water source which has completely dried up due to several factors, he said.
The three villages where Solar Water Treatment Units are installed are ones of such categories where all other conventional methods are not feasible economically, he said while encouraging the villages to take great care of the created assets so that the installed systems may be able to give good service for a long time to come.
