Exhibition held in Gurugram to show methods to revive city’s dying ponds

A wastewater treatment expo, under Jal Shakti Abhiyan, will be held on Friday at John Hall in Civil Lines. The administration has targeted to rejuvenate 30 ponds in the district by October, which can directly impact over three lakh people living in the vicinity of these ponds, located in different villages.

In a step towards reviving dying ponds in the district, the administration has invited researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs with experience in environmental studies from across the country to exhibit innovative solutions to treat waste pond water.

A view of a water body in a natural drain at Sikandarpur. (Yogendra Kumar/HT PHOTO)

A wastewater treatment expo, under Jal Shakti Abhiyan, will be held on Friday at John Hall in Civil Lines. The administration has targeted to rejuvenate 30 ponds in the district by October, which can directly impact over three lakh people living in the vicinity of these ponds, located in different villages. A clean pond increases the possibility of better groundwater recharge in the area.

Shubhi Kesarwani, programme manager, GuruJal, said, “Support a Pond is an essential and important intervention to rejuvenate the natural water bodies. Due to rapid urbanisation and unregulated exploitation of water resources, ponds in Haryana, also called as jhods/johads, are in a poor state.”

Citing a study by revenue records and GIS mapping by Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), Kesarwani said, “The number of water bodies in the district has reduced from 644 to 124, from 1994-2019. Most of them are dry or have sewage water flowing in them.”

Through the wastewater expo, the most sustainable cost-effective and eco-friendly technology for pond cleaning, bioremediation and micro sewage treatment plant will be selected. Twenty teams from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru are participating in the expo.

“A panel of water experts will shortlist 20 entries and six of them will present their designs to the key stakeholders for the project. The final selection will be based cost-efficiency, innovative technology, sustainability and timelines,” said Kesarwani.

Exhibitors will showcase their technique on wired fencing, landscaping and beautifications, sewage collection system, sewage treatment plant, bioremediation, earth filling, contour levelling, pond cleaning, maintenance and management.

According to Kesarwani, 10 ponds will be rejuvenated through panchayat funds, 14 under development plan, four through Corporate Social Responsibility and two through fund-raising.