Bhubaneswar: Acknowledging the contributions of farmers in the water sector, the state government will observe Pani Panchayat Pakhya (Pani Panchayat Fortnight) from January 16 to 30. In the first leg of the Pani Panchayat, the Water Resources department will hold Irrigation Division (Major, Medium, MI, and LI) level functions across 117 divisions in the state Tuesday. The district level functions will be held January 24 and the state level function January 30. The ministers will flag off Raths on the inaugural day in the presence of MPs/MLAs, local panchayat, urban local body representatives, and eminent persons. Various activities such as debate, essay, painting and quiz competitions, exhibition of models among school students; Pani Panchayat Samabesha; Information Education Communication/Social Behavioral Change Communication (IEC/SBCC) activities through exhibitions and Raths will also be organised. Banners, brochures, logo, slogan, tagline, anthem, oath have also been prepared to create the buzz. The Pani Panchayat movement in the state has come a long way from about 700 Water Users’ Associations in 1995-2002 to more than 39,289 Pani Panchayats now. The Odisha Pani Panchayat Act, 2002 has been amended to make it more inclusive. Those include the formation of Pani Panchayats under the Mega Lift Irrigation Projects; inclusion of spouses of landholders to increase the representation of women, e-CAD, web and mobile appbased applications for real-time monitoring of Pani Panchayats, and infrastructure such as field channels. Through projects such as the Odisha Integrated Project for Climate Resilient Agriculture (OIIPCRA), Pani Panchayats are being initiated for the promotion of improved crop productivity; and adoption of resilient agricultural practices and technologies.
ARINDAM GANGULY, OP
