Thiruvananthapuram: Water quality testing facility will be set up
schools in
Kattakada constituency as part of
Jalasamridhi, a water resource conservation project.
The
water testing lab is being set up in association with Communication and Capacity Development Unit (CCDU), which will provide the water testing kits to schools. Around 80 to 100 samples can be tested using one kit.
In the first phase, six schools—Government Higher Secondary School in Kulathummal, Government Higher Secondary School in Malayinkeezhu, Government Higher Secondary School in Vilavoorkal, DVMNNM Higher Secondary School, St Xaviours School in Peyad and Victory Higher Secondary School in Nemom— have been selected for the project.
A group of five students and teachers from these schools were provided training by representatives of CCDU for implementation of the project. These members of Water Club and NSS unit, which monitors school-based activities of Jalasamridhi, will train more students in their school.
Initially, students will be asked to bring well water from houses for testing. They will be given a water quality card mentioning Ph value and turbidity of the water.
As schools will cover 50% to 60% of the population in Kattakada, testing of the water in majority of the wells in the constituency will be covered in the first phase, said Nizamudeen A, land use commissioner, Kerala state land use board.
Land use board is the nodal agency for implementing Jalasamridhi.
“The water testing lab in schools will help to create awareness among students on need to conserve water resources, as they will be conducting the test and understand the water quality. It will also be a step towards the aim for Green school,” said Nizamudeen.
Well-recharge and cleaning of public wells and ponds were some of the activities which were conducted as part of Jalasamridhi.
In the next phase, the water testing facilitywould be extended to panchayat offices, so that the general public can test the well water in their houses.
