Ponniayan urges use of technology to address demand, supply gap of water

The Northeast monsoon was fast approaching, Ponnaiyan reminded the team of scientists and experts and also the members of the council who had gathered to attend the webinar workshop on “Water Stress and Water Resource Management” on Wednesday, urging them to discuss rainwater harvesting and the measures required to mitigate the overexploitation of groundwater. The scientists and water managers should address the issues related to water stress and management, he urged.

Addressing the webinar Ponnaiyan said that there was a demand and supply gap in drinking water that should be addressed immediately, and also called for using technology to save water. Pointing out that the water related issues were becoming a challenge in urban ecosystem, he urged for more water treatment solutions and reuses.

Anil Meshram, member secretary, SDPC, asked the participants to explore the opportunity in ecosystem services. BC Archana Kalyani, head of Land Use division, SDPC, said: “The objective of the workshop is to harvest rainwater through various sources of existing structures, to prudently use the harvested water for irrigation and other domestic use, to treat grey and black water and put them to use for industrial purpose, to find a way to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of water needs of the citizens, and stress the concept of reduce, reuse and recycle water.”

Experts from Centre for Climate Change and Disaster Management; Centre for Water Resources, Anna University; IIT-Madras, Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Udhagamandalam; Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Coimbatore; and Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai, attended the workshop.