Jamshedpur, April 26: Experts from different parts of the country got together at a seminar on watershed management at JRD Tata Sports Complex today.

The seminar was designed with an objective to create a network of like-minded organisations in giving a fresh momentum to the importance of undertaking watershed management projects across the state, with particular emphasis in the city.

Pitted against Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan, which receive average annual rainfall between 400mm and 700mm, Jharkhand, with an average rainfall of 1500mm, has a dismal record in utilisation of water. This was revealed at the seminar.

Today’s seminar, a joint initiative of TSRDS and the Rotary Club of Jamshedpur, was a deliberation on successful models implemented by various NGOs in creating awareness on initiating watershed management projects across the state.

Experiences were shared by TSRDS, Pradan, KGKV and the divisional forest office were some of the few who have considerable work in this sector.

“They are the ones, who have put in significant eff- orts in this part of the state. We are here to listen to them and encourage the new groups to pick up good points and incorporate it in their respective area of work too,” said Ronald D’Costa, the centennial governor of Rotary Club.

While people from different parts of the country where watershed programmes are in use spoke about its benefits, the key speaker for the day’s event, Crispin Lobo, an official of Watershed Organisation Trust in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, elaborated on the huge amount of work done at the place.

Also present at the event was Durjoy Chakravarty of the Central Ground water board.

New organisations were made aware on the importance of starting new initiatives to incorporate watershed management projects.

A group from the Ramgarh Watershed Organisation, a representation of Krishi Gram Vikas Kendra, spoke at length about their projects.

The Purulia watershed was discussed by the Pradan group, while the Sini watershed project as undertaken by TSRDS was also discussed at the event.

Siddharth Tripathy, DFO, Ranchi, spoke on the forest department’s role in the ridge to valley implementation of watershed projects.