VEC Group at South West Khasi Hills Bags First Price at the National Water Awards

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaNovember 12, 2020

“Handsfree washing and others” a group of 12 VECs under South West Khasi Hills, Meghalaya bagged the first prize for the category Water Warrior (Northeast Zone) at the 2nd National Water Awards held on 11 November organized by Department of Water Resources, Ministry of Jal Shakti through virtual platform.

While receiving the award, Lamphrang George Marboh a representative said, “I am thankful to the Jal Shakti ministry for recognizing the efforts of 12 VECs in water management with this prestigious award. This will inspire for more such good works in the future.”

Handsfree washing and other is a group of 12 VECs from South West Khasi Hills, who have worked together over the past two years to create a sustainable water resource for the otherwise water scarce areas. The group with support from the district administration has built two mini dams that provides water to the nearby villages through pipes.

The National Water Awards 2019 was launched in September, 2019 through MyGov portal and CGWB email. A total of 1112 valid applications were received by the end of deadline i.e. 31st December, 2019. A Jury Committee was constituted under Chairmanship of Shri Shashi Shekhar, Former Secretary, DoWR, RD & GR. Two Screening Committees with members from CGWB and CWC assisted the Jury Committee in studying the applications and selecting the winners.

The awards are given to motivate individuals/organizations who are doing commendable work in the field of water resources conservation and management. Also, it strives to create awareness among the people about the importance of water and motivate them to adopt the best water usage practices. The award winners in different categories will be given a citation, trophy and cash prize.

The NWAs focus on the good work and efforts made by individual and organisations across the country, and the government’s vision for the path to ‘JalSamridh Bharat’. The event provides a good opportunity to start-ups as well as leading organisations to engage and deliberate. The event also provides an occasion for all people and organisations to further cement a strong partnership and engender stakeholders’ engagement in water resources conservation and management activities.