#Water Digest Water Award to NBJK @TheWaterDigest

21 March, New Delhi: Nav Bharat Jagriti Kendra has won 10th Water Digest Water Award, 2015-16 and declared winner under the category of Best NGO for Revival of Rural Water Resources by noted media organisation Times Network in partnership with UNESCO. Also ASSOCHAM, the Central Water Commission, the Central Ground Water Board, WAPCOS Ltd. and NSF have supported the event.

The felicitation of awards was presided over by Mr. Birender Singh, Union Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water and Sanitation in presence of other dignitaries like Mr. Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary, Drinking Water and Sanitation,  Mr. Al Amin Yusuph, Advisor for Communication and Information, UNESCO, Mr. G. S. Jha, Chairman, Central Water Commission, Mr. K. B. Biswas, Chairman, Central Ground Water Board, Mr. S. Masood Husain, Director General, National Water Development Agency, Mr. Sushil Khodvekar (IAS), Commissioner, Nanded Waghala Municipal Corporation and Mr. B. B. Singh, Head Water Business (South Asia), NSF International.

For NBJK, it was a celebration of the Livelihood program with support of Tata Trusts and CInI in Khunti, Jharkhand. NBJK has facilitated people of Baree village to get water of Tajna River flowing across Sudgiburu hillocks. This endeavor didn’t need any complex system, machinery, power or fuel rather gravity force is being used as Diversion Based Irrigation Management (DBIM) for the purpose. The water comes through 2 km long downward pipeline of 3 feet diameter by cutting rocks. Baree village is about 16 km from Khunti town/district headquarter and people were relying upon rainwater for agriculture. Currently they get 24 hours water supply for domestic use and are able to irrigate 200 acres of land round the year with community ownership as they contributed to the setup.

The theme for the award was Water and Jobs.  Water Digest, the magazine works towards raising awareness of the issue affecting water and revolves around the changes and problems faced by the common man as well as the solution that the water industry has worked on.