Jorgewar urges dams from CSR funds to check water shortage in Chandrapur

Chandrapur district has received less rain this year, creating drought-like conditions. Against this backdrop, MLA Kishor Jorgewar has given a letter to the district collector demanding that water conservation dams be built immediately in Chandrapur from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds.

Jorgewar has written that a water shortage may be felt in the coming summer. He says the water now available in rivers, streams and rivulets should be held back so that the groundwater level rises. He expects the dams to be built from the CSR funds of WCL, Mahagenco, cement companies and other large industries.

According to the letter, the poor rain has affected several sectors, including farming. With the rain failing, farmers face a question over irrigation. Industries too could find it hard to get water later. Some rivers, streams and rivulets still have water, but given rising temperatures and the lack of rain, these sources could dry up in the coming days. Jorgewar has therefore said in the letter that it is necessary to save every drop of water by holding it back.

He has also written that the groundwater level keeps falling, so the possibility of a serious drinking water crisis next summer cannot be ruled out. In his view, water conservation work should begin now rather than relying only on tankers or other alternative arrangements in summer. If water is held back at the right places, it will help raise the groundwater level, and farming, ordinary citizens and industries could benefit.

Jorgewar has proposed that WCL, Mahagenco, the cement industry and other companies each take up at least one water conservation project from their CSR funds. He has demanded that measures such as plastic dams, cement check dams and Vanrai bandhs be included.

For this, he has said a survey should first be carried out immediately, through the revenue and irrigation departments, of the district's rivers, streams and rivulets in which water is still flowing. Suitable sites should be fixed and a plan drawn up for building dams to hold the water. Companies should not stop at giving money, he said, but should also provide machines such as JCBs and poclain excavators, and the necessary labourers. In his suggestion, this would allow the work to be completed on a war footing and reduce the extra burden on the administration.

Jorgewar has also demanded that the district collector personally take up the matter and immediately call a meeting of representatives of all the major companies in the district. The meeting should plan the CSR-funded water conservation work, and each company should be given responsibility for at least one project.

MLA Kishor Jorgewar has appealed that people should not have to struggle for drinking water next summer, that farmers should get irrigation water and that industries should not face a shortage either. According to him, saving the existing water sources is everyone's collective responsibility, and the administration and industrial companies should begin work immediately in coordination.