Shillong, Dec 1: In bid to highlight the centrality of water bodies as cherished spaces for community connect, the Water Heritage Fortnight as part of the Catch the Rain Campaign 2023 was observed at Ward’s Lake, locally known as Pollock Lake or Nan Polok, in Shillon on Friday.
The aim of the event is to serve as a template of how cultural/public events can be used to raise public consciousness about safeguarding the rich water heritage. It will also help to create awareness and ownership among the citizens as well as promote tourism and restoration of heritage structures, some lying in decrepit condition.
The event was organized by office of Deputy Commissioner, East Khasi Hills District.
In this context to conserve and inventorise the rich Water Heritage Structures, Ministry of Jal Shakti had identified 75 structures as “Water Heritage Structure” as a part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsava celebration.
Ward’s Lake is one of these structures that fulfil the parameters set by the Selection Committee under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
These parameters are: (i) The structure must be at least 100 years; (ii) The structure must be based on significant human intervention/engineering and not be entirely natural; (iii) The structure must be illustrative of past water practices; (iv) The value can vary from national level heritage to state level and district level heritage assessed on the following criteria: antiquity, scale, ingenuity, functionality and condition, visual impressiveness.
