As some parts of the country facing water scarcity problem, Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Monday launched ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan’, saying the government’s aim is to make water conservation a people’s movement.
Speaking at a press briefing, Shekhawat said, “Water crisis is a major issue. We want to make Jal Shakti Abhiyan a people’s movement. The United Nations has listed the issue of clean drinking water on number six on its sustainable development goals list. The UN expects all countries to provide clean drinking water to every household by 2030.”
The ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan’ will focus on five aspects – water conservation and rainwater harvesting, renovation of traditional and other water bodies, reuse of water and recharging of structures, watershed development, and intensive afforestation, Drinking Water Sanitation Secretary Parmeswaran Iyer said.
While Shekhawat added: “In India per capita, water availability is decreasing. There are dangers of climate change as well so the country is becoming vulnerable. The rainwater harvesting capacity is only 8 per cent. So it is required to make water conservation a people’s movement.”
“The country is going through a water crisis. However, there are states like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan who have shown positive results in water conservation,” the Union Minister further said.
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“There are states that have taken community-based initiatives to handle the water crisis…Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants water conservation to become a people’s movement Abhiyan. Before taking oath as the Prime Minister for the second term, he spoke about it in one of the episodes of ‘Mann Ki Baat’,” he added.
On being asked, how will government harvest the issue of water draining in rivers, Shekhawat said, “Prime Minister Modi had written to all the Sarpanchs in the country. If we work towards water restoration in villages i.e if the water in the villages remains there and used for agriculture then it will have a great impact on the harvesting of water. It is also not a very difficult task and people’s initiative is also required to do the same.”
In his first address in the second edition of monthly show ‘Mann ki Baat’ on Sunday, June 30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is not required in conservation of water.
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