Hyderabad: The fluoride affected people of Nalgonda district have something to cheer about as the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad campus (JNTU-H) is going to replicate the success it achieved in rainwater harvesting (RWH) in Gottiparthi village in Tungaturthi mandal in old Nalgonda district (now Suryapet district).

The pilot project of drinking water augmentation would be taken up at the Zilla Parishad High School (ZPHS) in Gottiparthi village. Speaking to The Hans India, Dr M V S S Giridhar, head, Centre for Water Resources, JNTU-H said, “The project would help 1,000 students and staff of the school who would have clean drinking water.

The aim is to reduce fluoride content in ground water by the concept of rain water recharge through recharge well along with geo-textile.’’

The geo-textile sheets which are made from polypropylene fibres help in erosion control. The water recharge will help reduce the fluoride content to a great extent said Giridhar. The project is funded by Natural Resources Data Management System (NRDMS), Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.

Officials of JNTU say that the department bagged the project due to the success JNTU-H achieved by turning self-sufficient. 60 crore litres of water has been harvested at the campus in four years.

In the past, JNTU used to spend close to Rs 7 lakh per year for water tankers, now all the 23 bore wells are working even in peak summer due to rainwater harvesting.

Officials at the Centre for Water Resources, JNTU-H say that people in Nalgonda have been suffering due to high fluoride content in water and even the State government is keen on following the project as it could be a model that could be replicated in the district.

The JNTU-H has been providing technical know-how to different organisations. Last week, officials of different departments from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha, Puducherry, Andamand & Nicobar Islands and Lakshwadeep visited JNTU campus.

* Original article online at http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Telangana/2017-06-11/JNTU-to-demonstrate-rainwater-harvesting-in-village/305804

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