|
Lansdowne, a beautiful hill station in Pauri district of Garhwal in Uttaranchal, has been endowed with bountiful nature and pristine surroundings. Attracted by its salubrious climate and natural beauty, the Britishers established a cantonment here and named the place after Lord Lansdowne in 1890. The famous Garhwal Rifles of the Indian Army established its command office known as the Garhwal Rifles Regimental Centre(GRRC) at Lansdowne in the year 1921. However, increasing urbanization, population growth, deforestation and vehicular traffic started taking its toll on this hill station over the past few decades. This became visible from the reduced forest cover, water scarcity during summer months and increased air pollution.
A map survey of Lansdowne carried out in 1931 showed 35 natural springs in the area. A physical verification of these 35 locations in 1999 revealed that only 8 of them yielded water while the rest had dried up. This alarming revelation was an eye opener for the authorities at the Regimental Centre. Accordingly, a multi-pronged strategy was formulated and various initiatives taken in 1999 itself for implementation in subsequent years.
Check Dams for Harvesting Water
GRRC took up the task of augmenting the water resources and conceived a project for water harvesting with construction of 12 earthen check dams. These check dams were constructed 2 to 3 meter high and 10 to 15 meter wide with a capacity to hold water for 45 to 60 days after rains. This resulted in developing the area around the earthen check dams into thick vegetative cover. Success of these earthen check dams led to experimental construction of a concretized check dam. This successful experiment later led to construction of two other similar check dams in the year 2002 and 2003 respectively, with the combined holding capacity of about 45 lakh gallons of water. Approximate expenditure incurred on these check dams was to the tune of Rs 13 lakh. A fishery project has also been started at one of these dams.
To augment the water availability in the springs, 55 water trenches/pits of an average size of 5m x 2m x 1m were dug on the hill slopes above the water springs. Besides, eight buildings were identified for roof top water harvesting project with total capacity of 3.5 lakh liters. Looking at the success of these endeavours, efforts are now on to expand this project. The visitors staying at the Garhwali Mess are using the roof-tapped water.
Rejuvenating Water Resources
As a result of rainwater harvesting projects undertaken at Lansdowne, 6 dried up springs have been activated. There has been an increase in flora along the nalas. The water availability in springs has increased. Eight hand pumps have been installed for providing water to the Army and the civilian population. The water yield in the hand pumps around the area of check dams has increased. Also there has been augmentation of water to sustain tree plantation. The dependence on water tankers has been considerably reduced during summer months. The water flowing out of the check dams at Lansdowne and reaching down the hills has increased the water of river Kho whose existence had been threatened due to slow depletion of water bodies up hills. The river Kho has been the lifeline of Kotdwar town located at the foothills of Shivalik ranges.
The treated water from the concretized check dams is being supplied through pipelines. The area around the lakes formed by the dams has been beautified to attract tourists. For checking soil erosion and reducing silt in the lakes, 22 stonewalls have been erected.
The GRRC has undertaken massive plantation of oak, deodar and rhododendrons in the areas devoid of vegetation. Thousands of oak saplings developed at the nurseries of GRRC were planted in an area of 40 acres amidst the pine and oak jungles. In a conference on “Environment and Ecological Work in the Command Zone” held at GRRC in June 2004, senior Army officers and prominent environmentalists S/Shri Sundar Lal Bahuguna and Chandi Prasad Bhatt had been involved in discussions on issues concerning environmental and ecological work done in the Command Zone. The persistent efforts of the officers and men of GRRC have helped in conservation of natural resources, addressing the problem of water shortage in the area and restored the old grandeur and pristine surroundings of Lansdowne. The GRRC has done commendable work worth emulating in the field of environment protection.
*Information Officer, PIB, Dehradun
|
