NT NETWORK
PANAJI
IDC chairman Ganesh Gaonkar has said the corporation is seeking to bring about rainwater harvesting projects for industrial estates.
Speaking to ‘The Navhind Times’, he said the IDC is open to any method of rainwater harvesting as long as it augments water supply to industrial units and results in better water management.
Gaonkar, who recently attended presentations on rainwater harvesting systems, said the proposal will be placed before the board.
Currently, the IDC has provided space to the water resources department for undertaking rainwater harvesting projects. About 12 groundwater recharging works have been put in place at the industrial estates of Verna, Kundaim, Pilerne, Sancoale and Bethora.
In Kundaim, the WRD has also constructed bunds that channelize water into borewells.
Efforts are on to motivate big companies to undertake their own rainwater harvesting methods, said IDC officials. Some seven to eight companies, including Merck, Putzmeister, Colgate, Glenmark, Nestle and Crompton Greaves, have achieved success in installing rainwater storage systems. Several of these companies have rooftop systems that direct the water to the well. The companies have become self-sufficient in water needed for the bathroom and garden even in the summer, said the officials.
The WRD’s rainwater harvesting initiative at Verna has improved the groundwater table, said Prakash Kochar, president, Verna Industrial Estate Owners Association.
However, despite these efforts several borewells run dry because consumption is huge, he said.
The estate is a pharma hub and needs 10 million litres of water per day, and has always faced water shortage.
Supply of water in Verna is mainly through tankers. The estate’s water woes this summer have been partly alleviated by the IDC permitting water to be drawn from the sump, said Kochar.
In other industrial estates the situation is relatively better with an unit owner at Kundaim stating that the estate is not water deficient and receives adequate supply of it even in summer.
While rainwater harvesting has not taken off in residential complexes the track record in industry is somewhat better, WRD sources have said.