Agartala, June 8 (UNI) In a bid to check the steady decline of the water bodies in Tripura, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has asked the administration to take immediate step to clean up and restore the water level in the water bodies.

A meeting held here yesterday between Mr Sarkar and officials of the Agartala Municipal Council and state administration discussed ways of conservation and management of water bodies in.

''The meeting identified 17 ponds in the NE Rudrasagar and has resolved to begin renovation work for storing rain water substantially,'' official sources said.

Pressure on land in urban locations of the state have been increasing day by the day due to internal migration and rapid urbanisation. ''Houses and business centres are coming up filling up ponds and natural water bodies, which caused declination of ground water table in Tripura,'' the source said.

''Most of the urban pockets are solely dependent on ground water and crisis of water bodies on earth virtually affect the ground water recharge system. This has influenced the government to take up the matter seriously,'' said a senior official of state administration.

The state government has codified an Act to deal with incidences of filling up the water bodies in the state following pressure from defferent environmental activists.

UNI