Pune, May 18: In view of the drought situation in Maharashtra, volunteers of the state unit of National Service Scheme (NSS) will undertake a de-siltation drive at the Khadakwasla dam near here to enhance its water storage capacity.
The NSS volunteers, numbering around 1,000 and drawn from 23 universities, will undertake the task from May 20.
Coordinated by the University of Pune (UoP) cell of NSS in association with Green Thumb, an NGO, and supported by the state Irrigation Department, the week-long campaign is expected to dig up and remove silt running into tonnes from the dam, the biggest of the four reservoirs that supply water to Pune city, which has a population of over three million.
“Water storage capacity of the dam, built during the British rule in 1879, is getting steadily reduced because of the accumulating silt.
The present water shortage in Maharashtra and the drought situation prompted us to undertake this project which is a social mission of the NSS,” said NSS Programme Coordinator Shakira Inamdar.
The dam, located about 20km from the city, has a capacity of 1.96 TMC (thousand million cubic) but has a reduced storage volume due to silt at a time when the region is facing acute water scarcity.
Giving details of the NSS drive, she said since the volunteers would be putting in manual work to clean the dam with the help of Irrigation Department equipment, it has been named “Shramsanskar” to emphasise on the dignity of labour.
UoP Vice-Chancellor Vasudeo Gade, who evinced keen interest in the project, had made a provision of Rs 7 lakh for the stay of the volunteers who would be arriving here from across the state, Inamdar said.
“As part of the ‘Shramsanskar' camp we will also undertake a tree plantation drive utilising the silt extracted out of the dam,” she added.
Around a dozen districts, mostly in Marathwada and Western Maharashtra regions, are in the grip of severe drought said to the worst in the state's history.
NSS, which functions under the Union Ministry of Youths Affairs and Sports, was set up in 1969 with the idea of involving students in the task of national service.
