Port Blair, 02 August 2024:
A 2-day Consultative Conclave/Workshop on ‘Moving Towards Sustainable Water, Waste Management and Energy in Andaman & Nicobar Islands’ got underway in the Conference Hall of DBRAIT here today. Organized by DBRAIT, in association with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), (New Delhi), the conclave was inaugurated by the Chief Secretary, A & N Administration, Shri Keshav Chandra, IAS by lighting the traditional oil lamp in the presence of the Secretary, Education, Shri L. Kumar,IAS, Brigadier Ashis Bhattacharya, Principal Adviser (NE & UTs) CII, senior officers from A&N Administration, experts from renowned industries and research organizations from mainland, faculties & students of DBRAIT and JNRM. The workshop is aimed to bring together diverse stakeholders to present the existing challenges and available solutions for preparing a roadmap for water security, waste management and sustainable energy in the Islands.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, the Chief Secretary expressed his happiness that such an important conclave has been organized by DBRAIT and CII in A&N Islands. He said, water, waste management and energy are important sectors which probably every city & state is grappling with and we are putting our best effort to address these three important sectors in Isles.
The Chief Secretary said that water is a common good which needs to be used rationally, so that it is available for all for a healthy living. He underlined the need for devising a strategy for proper water supply as per the requirement of an area to feed the entire population residing there.
The Chief Secretary also emphasized upon proper treatment of black and grey water and remarked that “If we do not treat water, this will not only diminish the availability of water, but will also damage our water sources”.
He said, the entire science of water treatment is 250 year old which started in France and now- a- days, there are 5 to 6 technologies of water treatment. The Chief Secretary further said, in A&N Islands, in last one and a half years realizing that precipitation is our largest strength, the Administration has adopted traditional methods of water storage i.e. constructing ponds.
To materialize the concept, the Chief Secretary said that he and his team of officials visited different parts of South Andaman and identified 5 locations where weirs- a similar structure like Dhanikari Dam can be built for water storage. Engineering Consultants were also hired for the smooth materialization of this project. At present, the A&N Administration is going ahead with constructing 5 Weirs which will take a year or so to complete the project. Once these are constructed, there will not be water shortage in entire Port Blair for another 30 years and the Administration is working vigorously on this, the Chief Secretary added.
Mentioning about measures taken for improving power scenario in A&N Islands, the Chief Secretary said, Power infrastructure is being upgraded to take the load of growing population. The Chief Secretary further stated that the A&N Administration is trying to manage the power scenario with whatever resources is available. At present, the A&N Administration is on the course of reviving the infrastructure bit by bit. He further informed that A&N Administration has taken up with the Ministry of Power for revival of the Bambooflat Power Plant. This environment friendly project, once completed, will have a sustainable power supply and will be much more cost effective than the diesel generated power. The Chief Secretary said that the Administration is also working towards renewable energy sources. Construction of renewable energy plants have also been planned and very soon, tender for the project will be floated. About 120 MW worth of Power plants at different locations in the UT is being planned. Stewartgunj and Mithakari will probably have more than 60 MW renewable energy power plants besides other places. A Hydel-based plant will come up at Kalpong river and the Administration is working towards materializing these projects.
The Chief Secretary said while tackling Solid Waste Management, we must take care of grey & black water and if we do not take care of that, it will damage water resources, environment and the available green & public space. The most precious thing in urban environment is the public space, said the Chief Secretary adding that the most fundamental thing in building a city is to build that public space such as parks, gardens, play grounds and marinas. He said, to effectively tackle SWM, the PBMC and the District
Administration are working in tandem in keeping the city spic & span. Informing about the importance of segregation of waste, the Chief Secretary said that an effective segregation reflects the cleanliness of an area. Segregation is the only Mantra for SWM, the Chief Secretary said adding that the Administration is trying its best in this area and there has been tremendous success. He said, “In the first place, we are trying to encourage people to have that segregation done at the household level”. The Chief Secretary also laid emphasis on the collection facility and the assurance of collection which, he said, should be foolproof. The gaps in the Dry Resource Centres (DRCs) have been rectified & revamped and the city area is a bit cleaner now. The Chief Secretary underlined the need for a collective effort by all in all three sectors especially, water & power where citizens can contribute tremendously by saving and for solid waste management, one can help the entire city through segregation of waste, the Chief Secretary said.
Welcoming the chief guest and others present on the occasion, the Principal i/c, DBRAIT, Shri Shankar Rao said, DBRAIT is completing 40 years of its establishment. Apart from taking care of skill up gradation and producing competent engineers, the Institute has also taken up lot of initiatives for addressing the challenges experienced by A&N Islands.
In his address, Brig Ashis Bhattacharyya, Principal Adviser (NE & UTs), CII, dwelling upon the background behind organizing the conclave said that in line with the CII’s developmental agenda, we are closely collaborating with the GoI in their efforts towards bringing socio-economy transformation in the aspirational States mainly in NE States & UTs to ensure that inclusive growth is achieved by the country.
Dr. Sabyasachi Nayak, Counsellor, CII-Water Institute, proposed the vote of thanks in the inaugural session.
The two days workshop will have three sessions viz. on Water Security, Waste Management and Sustainable Energy respectively wherein the Government Departments, defense establishments, local industry and DBRAIT will be discussing the unique challenges faced by them in managing the resources, mitigating the challenge and applying the latest technology and the way forward. All the three sessions will also be attended by experts from Industry and Research Institutes (both in physical and virtual mode) who will present the technological solutions and case studies of successful projects which have been implemented in remote geographical scenario as present in A&N Islands. The various organization participating in the workshop include CII Water Institute, Danfoss Climate Solutions, Elico Limited, Ion Exchange (India) Limited, CSIR-National
Environmental Engineering Research Institute, retired official from Central Ground Water Board, Waste Management, GIZ, EcoTec and EcoSBR, CII Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development, CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre, CII , Avaada Group etc.
On the 1st day of the workshop, various challenges in water resource, supply and management was discussed and probable solutions were presented along with waste management solutions for the Island scenario. On 2nd August, in the 3rd session along with other experts, Vice Admiral Dinesh Prabhakar, AVSM, NM, VSM (Retd.) Distinguished Chair of Marine Engineering at INS Shivaji will be speaking on sustainable energy resources for A& N Islands.
