Shimla, Mar 22 (IANS): With Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launching the 'Catch the Rain' campaign on World Water Day, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur too announced that at least one water harvesting structure would be constructed in every subdivision.

At the state-level event to mark the day, the Chief Minister said the state has taken this decision as per the call by the Prime Minister to ensure water conservation and rainwater harvesting.

Thakur urged the elected representatives to ensure water conservation. To check the quality of water, a special campaign would be launched in the first fortnight of June, under which samples of water to be taken in villages, schools and 'anganwadi' centres would be tested in a laboratory.

He said a special drive to clean all sources of water would be launched from October 2 to 31. The objective of these programmes is to make the water quality and conservation campaign a mass movement.

The Chief Minister said this year the state has been celebrating the golden jubilee year of statehood and events on water quality and conservation are being lined up till January 24, 2022, by the Jal Shakti Department.

He said special Gram Sabhas would be held in all 3,615 panchayats in which a village action plan would be approved and water and sanitation committee would be constituted.

"When the present state government assumed the reins of the state, Shimla town suffered a major water crisis. Then the government decided to construct a water supply scheme for Shimla town with an outlay of Rs 80 crore and it was completed within a year," Thakur said.vg/vd