Katra, March 31: Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board was felicitated at the Jal Prahari Samman Samaroh–2023 held on Wednesday at New Maharashtra Sadan, KG Marg, New Delhi. The felicitation ceremony was organized under the aegis of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, in recognition of the significant strides made by the shrine board to promote water conservation, water harvesting and reuse of treated water.

Anshul Garg, Chief Executive Officer, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board received the Award on behalf of the Board from Union Jal Shakti Minister, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. He thanked the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti for recognising the work done by the Shrine Board under the chairmanship of Manoj Sinha, Hon’ble Lt Governor, JK-UT (Chairman, SMVDSB) for water conservation and management, saying that this honour will encourage the board’s team to work more zealously for water management and its conservation as part of yatra management initiatives.

In this ceremony, more than 50 water champions from various states across the country including Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board have been recognised as Jal Prahari on the basis of their work.

The Shrine Board besides making concerted efforts to provide the best possible facilities to the pilgrims, inter alia, taking continuing initiatives and adopting best water management practices and techniques for water conservation. These include the construction of water harvesting ponds, afforestation drives in Trikuta Hills, installation of Water ATMs, recycling of sewage treatment plants water for reuse in flushing of toilet blocks, installation of waterless urinals and rooftop rainwater harvesting, etc.

The Shrine Board has been awarded consecutively for the past many years in recognition of its initiatives taken in varied spheres. In 2019, the Shrine Board received the ‘Best Swachh Iconic Place’ award under the initiative of the Swachh Bharat Mission of the Government of India, while in 2017 the Board received the ‘Special Swachh Iconic Place’ award under the Swachhta Hi Seva’ campaign of the Government of India. In 2018, the board was awarded the Cleanest Religious Place award by the India Today Group and bagged the First Prize in the 2nd and 3rd ‘National Water Awards’ in the category of ‘Best Institution/ Resident Welfare Association/ Religious Organisation for Successful Campus Usage’. 

Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Prahlad Singh Patel, MP Manoj Tiwari and Unmesh Patil, ambassadors of many countries including Netherlands, Finland, Malta, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan were present on the occasion.