The row of empty jerrycans placed at Chowrastha in Darjeeling is a pointer to the severe water crisis in the town Picture by Suman Tamang

Siliguri, April 4: Over 500 schoolchildren from Darjeeling will march on April 18 to the Sidrapong Hydel Project in an effort to highlight the scientific means by which the water scarcity problem in the town can be overcome.

The rally, called Heritage March, will converge at the site of the hydel project to launch a scientific “crusade” to fight the water problems in the hills.

The programme, launched by the ministry of science and technology, is a part of the Eastern Himalayan Vigyan Chetna Jatha (EHVCJ) in the Year of Scientific Awareness, 2004. It is aimed at teaching people to analyse and seek solutions to problems affecting their lives.

Among the eight geo-climatic zones demarcated by a high-power inter-ministerial body headed by Vasant Gawarekar, eminent physicist and former scientific adviser to the Prime Minister, are Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts. They have been clubbed together under the eastern Himalayan zone.

Himalayan Pariavaran Care in Darjeeling has been chosen the nodal agency to execute the programmes chalked out for these three districts.

Speaking to The Telegraph during a meeting of the district- level committees of the Chetna Jatha here today, the state coordinator for the eastern Himalayan region, Umesh Dwivedi, said: “This is the third such initiative taken up by the Government of India after 1992. It is aimed at spreading awareness and teaching people to think rationally. It is aimed at encouraging people to find scientific solutions to local problems.”

Speaking about the Sidrapong rally Dwivedi said: “On April 18, we will take out a heritage march with school children at Asia’s oldest hydel project in Sidrapong. The focus of the programme is to encourage practices like water harvesting. It will also make people aware of the misuse of water and its ill-effects. Sidrapong has been selected, as it is one of the oldest examples of eco-friendly energy generation. The thrust of the event will be to use this knowledge to find a solution to Darjeeling’s water woes,” said Dwivedi.