Major drive to revive wetlands, ponds in Noida
Noida (UP): The Noida Authority is planning revival of at least six wetlands lost due to unregulated human activities before the monsoon season, according to officials.
The action comes close on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi writing to all village heads across the country, stressing on the idea of conserving water during rains, the officials said.
Now, the Noida Authority aims to mobilise public support for conversation of water during monsoon and revive wetlands in Sector 91, Sector 85, Gejha and Bakhtawarpur villages besides the two at the upcoming biodiversity park, a senior official said.
"At Sector-91, there is a wetland area spread across 12 acres which has remained neglected for a long time. Now the rubble and other kinds of waste surrounding the area has been removed while channels are being widened for harvesting and storage of rainwater during monsoons," Noida Authority's General Manager Rajeev Tyagi said.
He said native grass varieties and trees are being planted to ecologically restore the area, noting that the effort is not only on raising the ground water level but also to help address the local flooding problem during heavy rain episodes.
"Along with this awareness is being raised among local residents of the area regarding conservation of water through various campaigns such as nukkad natak, dance performances, paintings on metro pillars related to water conservation among others," Tyagi said.
Similarly, he said, a 6,000 sq metre wetland area lies in Sector 85 where construction and demolition waste has been dumped on the periphery of the pond while its catchment area was shrinking due to human activities.
"Waste is being removed from the periphery of the area while the wild grass is also being uprooted and will replaced by native grass and trees in the upcoming monsoon," he said.
Tyagi said, on the same lines, the authority has planned revival of ponds in Gejha and Bakhtwarpur villages
"Due to unregulated human activities, the ponds there have completely dried up. Efforts are in place to clean the pond from debris, waste and weed plants.
"The ponds will be excavated to increase its depth and maximise its water storage potential. We are also carrying out awareness campaign to boost local participation," he said.
The authority's focus is also on two wetlands stretching nearly 5 acres at the upcoming Biodiversity Park.
"Most significantly, these are all zero cost initiatives as they are being done via corporate social responsibility (CSR) tie ups. The Noida Authority won't be paying any money to contractors, it is just ensuring and making efforts to have more locals join the effort in water conservation by 'shramdaan' (free labour)," Tyagi said.
"We are expecting the six wetlands in Noida will be ready when showers drench the region this monsoon," he added.
