2 weeks Ago
The Punjab government on Friday launched an initiative to clean nearly 15,000 village ponds, a task long neglected for the past two to three decades. The campaign, aimed at transforming rural areas, was announced by Tarunpreet Singh Sond, minister for rural development and panchayats, during his visit to several villages in Fatehgarh Sahib district. Sond highlighted the critical state of these ponds, which had suffered from years of neglect, leading to silt buildup, foul odors and mosquito breeding, creating both environmental and health hazards.
“This initiative is not just about cleaning water bodies, it’s about restoring rural ecosystems and improving public health,” Sond said. As part of the campaign, 1,062 ponds have already been dewatered and nearly 400 have been desilted. Ponds are being either desilted or resilted based on individual conditions to restore their natural water-holding capacity.
“This initiative is part of a broader rural development plan backed by a ₹ 4,573 crore package, which also includes sports grounds, sewage management systems and regular infrastructure maintenance. Water samples from the ponds are being tested for agricultural reuse, with treatment plans to follow if necessary. The project aims to recharge groundwater levels before the monsoon season,” the minister said.
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