Anantapur bags Skoch Silver Award in water conservation

Anantapur: The district is bestowed with yet another prestigious Skoch Silver Award and also order of merit certificates from the 72nd Skoch Awards Committee for taking effective measures on the water conservation and management front.

The district collector Gandham Chandrudu is given the award for motivating the District Water Management Agency (DWMA) to achieve the unique feat.

Collector Gandham Chandrudu overwhelmed at the district's success in bagging the award, complimented DWAMA and all concerned for placing the district on the success map. He maintained that DWMA due to a plethora of landmark achievements in drilling of soak pits, farm ponds, water harvesting trenches can conserve 2.61 tmc of water and in boosting the ground water levels.

He thanked the people's representatives for their unstinting support in realising the mission. Two other departments, the RWS and Water Resources department which managed to come closer to the award and reach the finals, have received the order of merit certificates.

Rural Water Supply's record achievements include reaching out to fluoride-affected villages by making available treated drinking water of 20 litres at a cost of mere Rs 5.

The Water Resources department too achieved a unique feat of bringing HNSS water from a height of above 254 metres sea level to Madakasira which is 723 metres above sea level and from there to other drought-affected villages.

In appreciation of the effort, the Skoch Awards committee bestowed the order of merit certificate which is one step short of Skoch Silver Award. DWMA Project Director Venugopala Reddy, in a statement, attributed the DWMA's Skoch Award to the Collector's inspiration and motivation provided to the stake holders in bagging the award which is one more feather on the cap of the district.