SHILLONG, APR 30: The Meghalaya government is pursuing long-term interventions to revive dying rivers and streams, with afforestation and rainwater trenching forming the core of its strategy, PHE Minister Marcuise N Marak said on Thursday.

Providing an update on water source rejuvenation efforts, Marak stated that work is already in progress on several projects.
“Some of the projects are already on the job,” he said, but cautioned that “rejuvenation of the streams, rivers, is not short term measures, we are going for a long term measures.”

The Minister said the department is aligning its approach with the Centre’s ‘Catch the Rain’ initiative. “In certain cases we are planting lots of trees and afforestation is being done,” Marak noted.

He said trenching is being taken up in other locations to capture runoff.

“In some of the cases we are creating trenches to retain the rain water as the government of India stresses on the ‘catch the rain where it falls’.”

Detailing how the trenches aid recharge, he explained: “So to catch the rain where it falls, we are creating trenches. That is also helping alot because the moment the rain is coming, it goes inside the trenches and it sucks in the sub soil inside so that is how rejuvenation part starts there.”