Ensure Rainwater Harvesting to Boost Groundwater: Minister Seethakka Calls for Public Participation in Jalasiri

WARANGAL: State Panchayat Raj, Rural Development, Rural Water Supply, Women and Child Welfare Minister Danasari Anasuya Seethakka has stressed that the primary objective of the Jalasiri programme is to conserve rainwater and enhance groundwater levels. She called upon people to voluntarily come forward for the construction of soak pits and ensure the success of the State government’s flagship initiative.

The Minister was the chief guest at the Mulugu Mandal general body meeting and a Jalasiri awareness programme held at the MPDO office in Mulugu on Tuesday.

Addressing the gathering, she said mandal-level general body meetings serve as an effective platform to discuss and resolve village issues promptly. She stated that such meetings would be conducted once every two months to deliberate on developmental needs and devise solutions. Officials, public representatives and sarpanches were urged to work in coordination for village development.

Highlighting the impact of potential drought conditions due to El Nino, the Minister said the State government had launched the Jalasiri programme to mitigate water scarcity. She emphasised the slogan “Inkudu gunta for every household – community ponds for villages – farm ponds for agriculture,” and called for extensive measures to conserve rainwater in every village and improve groundwater resources. She urged people to treat Jalasiri as a shared responsibility and actively participate.

The Minister directed that gram sabhas be conducted within the next two days to finalise development works under the MGNREGS at the village level. Priority should be given to the construction of gram panchayat buildings, women’s group buildings, Anganwadi centres, individual asset development works in farmers’ fields, cattle sheds, milk sheds, and farm ponds. She appealed to women’s groups and women farmers to actively take part in the programme and noted that women’s group buildings under construction symbolise women’s dignity, urging sarpanches to closely monitor their progress.

She advised farmers to opt for dry crops suited to prevailing climatic conditions and to use available water judiciously to avoid losses. The government, she said, would extend full support for Jalasiri works through the employment guarantee scheme.

The Minister instructed officials of all departments to remain accessible to the public and discharge their duties with accountability. She called for identifying local needs through gram sabhas and preparing development plans to transform every village into a model village through collective efforts of public representatives, officials, women’s groups and farmers.

Later, Minister Seethakka unveiled the Jalasiri programme poster. Earlier, she attended the Mallampalli Mandal general body meeting at the MPDO office in Mallampalli.

District Additional Collector (Local Bodies) M. Sampath Rao, District Library Organisation Chairman Banothu Ravichander, Market Committee Chairperson Rega Kalyani, Panchayat Raj Director Bhagavan Reddy, ATMA Committee Chairman Ravinder Reddy, Mandal Special Officer Komurayya, MPDO Sandeep, Rahim, along with sarpanches, panchayat secretaries, public representatives and officials, were present.