Pune: The State government is likely to help social organisation Green Thumb in its project of desilting Khadakwasla dam and embankment of the surrounding area in order to keep soil erosion in check. Moreover, the organisation has been granted permission to give a presentation on its work and its benefits to the concerned department of the Centre in the presence of President Ramnath Kovind on October 10 in Delhi.

Addressing a press conference, President of Green Thumb Lt Col (retd) Suresh Patil said that Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari has appreciated the efforts taken by Green Thumb in the field of water and soil conservation and requested the State Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan to provide Green Thumb the required machinery for desilting Khadakwasla dam.

“Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari has promised assistance to the work being done by Green Thumb, which will be replicated in other parts of the country in order to increase storage capacity of dams, as increasing their height to increase the storage capacity also creates many problems like acquisition of land, rehabilitation of the displaced, etc,” Patil added.