E-Paper
Authority to repair pits for harvesting rainwater
The Noida authority on Monday said it will repair all water harvesting pits in city parks over the next 10 days to conserve rainwater.
The Noida authority on Monday said it will repair all water harvesting pits in city parks over the next 10 days to conserve rainwater.
“We have rainwater harvesting pits in 172 parks and the repair work on defunct rainwater pits is in progress in 30 parks. Besides these, harvesting pits in other parks need a bit of cleaning and that is also being done. All 172 water harvesting pits will be ready to function in the next 10 days,” said Rajesh Prakash, additional chief executive officer (ACEO), Noida authority.
After every rainy season, garbage -- plastic and construction waste -- chokes water harvesting pits with the result that rainwater spills over instead of seeping into the ground, officials said.
There are 750 parks -- both small and big -- in Noida. The Noida authority is planning to build water harvesting pits in small parks as well.
“We have decided to construct water harvesting pits in small parks too as we need to conserve rainwater as much as we can. However, these pits in small parks will be ready only in the next few months,” Prakash said.
Water harvesting pit is generally built in the middle of a park. A tube is laid in the pit to help rainwater to percolate down, recharging the groundwater table.
But officials said its not possible to have rainwater harvesting pits in all parks.
“We cannot construct rainwater harvesting pits in all parks as many are located near sewers or drains. If we build pits near sewers, there is always a risk of sewage mixing with rainwater and contaminating the groundwater,” said Omvir Singh, director, horticulture department, Noida authority.
For a similar reason, the authority also cannot construct water harvesting pits in parks located in Noida’s 20 industrial sectors.
“If industrial waste gets mixed with rainwater, it can pollute groundwater,” Singh said.
Stay updated with all the Breaking News and Latest News from Mumbai. Click here for comprehensive coverage of top Cities including Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and more across India along with Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News.
