Una, December 3rd:- A month-long Watershed Festival is being organized to promote the importance of groundwater conservation and rainwater harvesting. The festival is being held at the state level from November 11th to 16th, while related events at the district and block levels are being held from November 17th to December 16th.
This information was provided by Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Una, Mahendra Pal Gurjar, on Wednesday during a meeting to review the activities organized under the festival. Mr. Gurjar stated that public participation is crucial for water conservation. He explained that the main objective of the festival is to raise awareness among the public about water conservation and rainwater harvesting and to encourage them to actively participate in these initiatives.
He stated that the main objective of this event was to review Prime Minister Agricultural Irrigation Scheme 2-0 projects, discuss future watershed development plans, and raise public awareness. He directed all officials to regularly monitor the progress of water projects and adopt innovations to increase water use efficiency.
He stated that the Watershed Festival will include the inauguration of completed projects, groundbreaking ceremonies for newly initiated projects, labor donation, and tree planting activities, as well as ensuring public participation in the campaign.
As part of the festival, events were organized in the Bangana development block. These included the groundbreaking ceremony for a new project in Kharyalta Gram Panchayat, the inauguration of completed projects in Dehar, Dobar, Thanakalan, and Kharyalta Gram Panchayats, and the planting of horticultural saplings in Dehar Gram Panchayat. While the groundbreaking ceremony and inauguration of a project will be held in the Gram Panchayat Amlahad of Gagret Development Block, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Gram Panchayats Samurkalan, Dangoli, and Lamlaihari of Una Development Block, the inauguration ceremony for the Gram Panchayats Dangoli, Lamlaihari, Madanpur, and Jhambar, and the distribution of tool kits in the Gram Panchayats Samurkalan and Madanpur will be held on December 8th. He directed that college students be included in these programs.

*Opportunity to earn 50,000 rupees from social media reels*
The ADC informed that a "social media competition" is being organized alongside various activities under the Watershed Festival. In this state-level competition, the first four winners of social media reels will receive 50,000 rupees each, while the winners of the 50 best photographs will receive 1,000 rupees each. Interested participants can participate by creating a short 30- to 60-second video reel or photo before January 31st, showcasing water harvesting structures, horticulture, agroforestry, and other watershed schemes, including WDC-PMKSY 1.0 and 2.0, and the benefits they provide to the public. Participants must post their content on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, or Twitter using the designated hashtag and register on the online portal. Participants must upload this content to social media platforms between November 12th and December 31st, 2025. A link to the posted content must be provided during registration. Using the hashtag #WDC&PMKSY&Watershed Mahotsav 2025 is mandatory. After posting, participants must register and enroll online on the designated website: https://www.wdcpmksy-dolr-gov-in/registerMahotsav. The link to the content posted on social media platforms will also be available on the registration portal, after which they will receive a confirmation email confirming their successful registration. After the competition period ends, participants must submit a screenshot of their post's reach (views) and engagement (likes and comments) on the portal by 6 pm on January 31, 2026. Detailed information regarding water harvesting structures developed under IWMP, WDC-PMKSY 1.0, and 2.0 is also available on the departmental website https://wdcpmksy-dolr-gov-in.
The meeting was attended by District Development Officer Ramanveer Chauhan, Deputy Director Agriculture Department Kulbhushan Dhiman, District AYUSH Officer Dr. Kiran Sharma, Block Development Officers Amb Ompal, Gagret Surinder Kumar, Bangana KL Verma, Haroli Mukesh Kumar, and Una Sushil Kumar, along with officials from various departments.