Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and others during the inauguration of State Data Centre of Water Resources Department in Kohima on February 17.
Our Correspondent
Kohima | February 17
Nagaland‘s first State Data Centre under National Hydrology Project (NHP) was inaugurated by Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio today in Kohima.
“Today, our state has stepped into a new milestone with the inauguration of this Data Centre. I hope this Data Centre will prove useful data that is accessible for all Government departments, and also for institutions, NGOS, research scholars and interested public and help them in making better development plans,” Rio said.
The Data Centre will collect all vital data and information about water resources in the state, and after careful analysis, it will make the information available in a meaningful manner on its website for the Government departments as well as for public, Rio said.
He said that there are many departments whose functioning is intimately connected with water and its uses; such as PHE, Soil & Water Conservation, Agriculture, Horticulture, Fisheries, Land Resources, Veterinary & Animal Husbandry and even Power Department.
In fact, all development and utility departments need accurate date and information about water and weather conditions, he said.
Traditional water sources drying up in Nagaland
Rio said that due to mismanagement of water resources, there is a looming ‘water crisis' in many parts of the world, including India. Even in India, there are already increasing disputes and frictions between States over water.
In Nagaland also, there is a possibility of inter-village water disputes arising in the near future if the water discharge by our rivers and streams continue to shrink, he said.
Rio said that misuse and loss of forest cover is another big reason for the occurrence of many flash floods, and the drying up of underground water resources all over the world.
In Nagaland also, Rio said, many traditional water sources are drying up, and in the foothill areas, such as Dimapur, underground water table is going down very fast; and many wells are drying up, forcing people to dig deeper and deeper wells.
Today, we have a paradoxical situation, where due to global warming and the melting of polar ice-caps, the areas covered by water is increasing; while at the same time, the water available for humans, other land animals and plants is decreasing at a steady pace, he said.
Govt to provide clean drinking water to every household
Rio said that the government is making all efforts to provide clean drinking water to every household.
With vital data and information about water resources available in the data centre, we should be able to improve management of our water resources, Rio said.
“We should also be able to more effectively plan to meet the various challenges that are being thrown at us on account of global warming, indiscriminate use and stress on our forest resources,” the chief minister said.
Rio said that the central Government's Jaal Jeevan Shakti Mission, which is also being implemented in Nagaland, will be able to use the quality data about “our water resources and its behavior etc. from this State Data Centre in the future.”
Call for integrating all water related data on common platform
“Today, with the opening of the State Data Centre, the Government and all its officials have drawn a step closer to optimizing the scarce resources and is adjacent in eradicating the problems of the farmers and the society as a whole,” said Namri Nchang, Advisor, Water Resources Department.
He urged all the line departments to coordinate and work simultaneously for the common cause, to integrate all water related data on the common platform and make it readily available for use by all stakeholders, private individuals, research scholars, students, Institutes, NGOS and others.
In order to venture into the task of data collection, storage and dissemination, the State Data Centre will stand in need of the participation of all the line departments.
With the availability of proper and accurate data, concrete results can be obtained, which ultimately will lead to better planning and management of the available resources, he said.
