Mysuru: The State Government will seek technical assistance for ground water conservation through an Indo-German Memorandum of Understanding under the Jalamrutha Project, said Nijalingappa, Director of State Jalamrutha Project.

He was speaking at an internal auditor certification training programme, conducted by the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Rural Development at Abdul Nazir Sab State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Institute, Lalitha Mahal Road in city recently. 

The Karnataka State Remote Sensing Applications Centre (KSRSAC) is supporting in geo-tagging of the existing structures and resources, he said and added that the High Court has given clear direction to the conservation of 37,000 lakes in the State. Water literacy, water conservation, judicious use of water and afforestation activities are components of the Jalamrutha Project. 

“As per United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report, every person should get 150 LPCD (litre per capita per day) water per day, but in reality we are not able to provide the same. We are facing water shortage due to our behaviour and climate anomalies. In this complex situation, we have to resort to alternative measures. Water demand has to be scientifically sensed. We must understand the prevailing structures of water conservation and demand for agriculture, domestic consumption (human), animal husbandry, industrial activities and sports and cultural activities,” he said. 

Nijalingappa said that for the past four decades, the water resources that the ancestors had conserved had been lost and hence the need of the hour was to conserve and use the water judiciously. Training Director Parvez Khan, Executive Engineer Rajashekara Javalagi, Training Coordinator C. Vijayakumar, Research Officer Murali Kenchappa, Faculty, Pramod Mohan Chandakavate, Research Assistant Jyoti Priyadarshini were present.