Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 04 March 2025
A one-day training workshop on the 7th Minor Irrigation Census and 2nd Census of Water Bodies was conducted on Monday at the Conference Hall of the Directorate of Agriculture, Haddo, Sri Vijaya Puram. The workshop aimed to create awareness about the significance of water resources in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and their contribution to the agricultural economy through irrigation.
The twin censuses are part of an initiative to develop a comprehensive and accurate database, which will serve as a tool for monitoring, evaluating schemes, and ensuring efficient water resource management in the Union Territory.
Er. Arun Kumar, Superintending Engineer and Director (SWIC) of the Andaman Public Works Department, graced the occasion as the chief guest. In his address, he expressed his pleasure in collaborating with the Department of Agriculture, especially as the 1st Census of Major & Medium Irrigation Projects and 1st Census of Springs have been introduced by the Ministry of Jal Shakti. APWD has been designated as the nodal department for the exercise. He emphasized that the online database would facilitate better management and planning for future developmental activities, with the potential to make each island self-sufficient.
Mr. Ramesh Kumar, Joint Director (Agriculture) HQ, addressed the gathering as the guest of honour. He highlighted that the database would enable holistic water management planning by integrating water harvesting structures, micro irrigation, and groundwater mapping. He also stressed the importance of digitisation in future water management projects.
Earlier, Mr. C Vinod Kumar, Nodal Officer (MI Census), delivered the welcome address, underlining the significance of the two censuses and providing an insightful overview of the training objectives. The workshop featured interactive sessions and hands-on field training using a mobile application for data collection.
During the technical session, Mr. Sibi Mathew, Junior Engineer, CD-II, Prothrapur, APWD, briefed the participants on the 1st Census of Springs and its role in the 7th MI Census database. He also demonstrated the mobile application’s features. Mr. Vinod Kumar elaborated on the web-based application and the process of creating user credentials at the district, block, and enumerator levels for both rural and urban areas of South Andaman District. Additionally, the Agriculture Officer (Soil) explained the various schedules to be filled through the mobile application.
In the afternoon session, the trainee officers conducted a field demonstration at a farmer’s field in Chouldari, South Andaman, to collect data on water bodies using the mobile application.
Approximately 30 participants, including senior officers and resource persons from APWD and the Agriculture Department, attended the workshop. A total of 22 trainee officers from various agricultural zones enhanced their skills through the training session.