Use retired engineers' experience in water management, says Vikhe Patil
Maharashtra water resources minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil called for advisory boards to draw on retired engineers' experience, at an award ceremony in Pune.
Pune, 16th. The long experience of engineers and officers who have retired from the water resources department should be used in the state's future water management work. An advisory board should be considered at the level of the water resources department as well as at every corporation for this purpose, said water resources minister (Godavari and Krishna Valley Development Corporation) Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil.
He was speaking at the Engineer Gaurav Puraskar distribution ceremony organised by the water resources department at Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration, YASHADA. Present on the occasion were water resources department principal secretary Eknath Dawale, project coordination secretary Jayant Borkar, command area development department secretary Prakash Misal, Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation executive director Rajesh Sontakke, Krishna Valley Development Corporation executive director Hanumant Dhumal, Godavari Valley Development Corporation executive director Jayant Gawli, Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation executive director Sudarshan Pagar, and Tapi Valley Development Corporation executive director Rajesh More.
Vikhe Patil said engineers have made a huge contribution to the state's agriculture and water systems. Their work is being honoured through the award, and experienced officers and engineers of the water resources department have done large scale work over a long period. It is necessary that the department keeps benefiting from their experience. He said everyone should think about how to make the most efficient use of water by effectively using available technology in water management and irrigation.
There had been a demand to increase the number of awards in the water resources department, and responding positively, Vikhe Patil suggested giving at least three awards for every corporation. He said he has approved keeping three to five awards for every corporation from next year. Vikhe Patil also appealed to the water resources department to work together to fulfil Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's resolve for a drought free Maharashtra.
Water resources minister (Vidarbha, Tapi and Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation) Girish Mahajan said the hard work of the water resources department's engineers and officers has given Maharashtra's water development a big push. Along with building dams, carrying that water to the last farmer's field and making efficient use of every drop should be the department's main goal, he said. He said there is a need to focus on reducing wastage of water and evaporation losses through pipe distribution systems, and drip and sprinkler irrigation. Removing silt deposited in dams, reusing used water, and using modern technology are the big challenges ahead, he said. Mahajan also said the Engineer Gaurav Puraskar honours the entire water resources department team, and that responsibility increases further after the award.
Principal secretary Eknath Dawale said that to complete water projects on time, land acquisition, forest and environment clearances, and rehabilitation work should be planned properly and coordinated with construction work. He said there is a need to increase the number of engineer awards so that the department's roughly six thousand technical staff are encouraged. Under the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan, Dawale also appealed for plans to be made for water conservation, water management, training of water user associations, increasing irrigation, and public participation.
On the occasion, a video message from Governor Jishnu Dev Varma greeting engineers on Engineers' Day was shown. Maharashtra was also congratulated for winning the best state award at the National Water Awards 2024.
At the ceremony, individual and team award winners from 2019 to 2024 were honoured. The 2019 individual award winners were Prakash Baburao Bhosale and Praveen Pandurang Paraskar, and the team award went to Sangli Irrigation Circle. The 2020 individual award winners were Nilesh Gurunath Bhoir, Sachin Pundalik Pawar and Mangesh Tryambakrao Tripite, and the team award went to the Jigaon Project, Buldhana Irrigation Project Circle. The 2021 individual award winners were Samadhan Dhondiba Sarpelwar, Arun Ramchandra Naik, Sayali Rajendra Patil, Pramod Punjaji Mahale and Vijay Hari Patil, and the team award went to the Central Designs Organisation, Nashik. The 2022 individual award winners were Sanjeev Dagadu Chopde, Gokul Shravan Mahajan, Praveen Vasantrao Deshmukh, Dhananjay Mahadev Kokare and Jaipal Sanjay Chaurasiya, and team awards went to Ratnagiri Irrigation Circle and the Nandurbar Medium Project Divisional Team. The 2023 individual award winner was Ajit Bharat Gaud, and the team award went to the Hydro Meteorological Data Processing Division, Nashik. The 2024 individual award winners honoured were Anita Uday Parate and Rajratna Mahadevrao Randive. Officers of the water resources department and their families were present at the ceremony.
