This workshop organised by the DHAN Foundation in the Gingee Town Panchayat (GTP) in Tamil Nadu on the 18th of November 2011, aimed at initiating a scientific study titled “Strategy for increasing per capita availability of water for Gingee town, Tamilnadu". Elected representatives of the town panchayat along with the general public and government officials participated in this workshop.
This 18 month study has been taken up under the auspices of The Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, and implemented jointly by the Centre for Water Research (CWR), Sathyabama University, Chennai and The DHAN Foundation, Madurai, a non profit voluntary institution involved in evolving community managed institutions for restoration, conservation and management of water resources in the country.
Gingee is a panchayat town in Viluppuram district (South Arcot district) in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which is located on the Thindivanam to Thiruvannamalai road about 25 km from Thindivanam. As of the 2001 census, Gingee has a population of 20,896. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Gingee has an average literacy rate of 73%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 64%. In Gingee, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age [1].
Although, the GTP has had adequate and improved public water supply system in recent years, the expanding population has been predicted to increase the pressure on the water resources of the town thus creating a need to explore means of improving the per capita availability of water to the population of GTP. The workshop dwelled on this felt need to find out whether the 20 -30 water bodies within the town panchayat limits, which at present were not in good shape, could be rejuvenated to improve the groundwater status in and around GTP.
References:
1. Wikipedia (2011) Gingee. Downloaded from the site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gingee on 1st December 2011
A copy of the workshop initiation note along with a presentation on the details of the study undertaken can be downloaded from below:
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