Concerned over drought, PM pitches for mass campaign to save water

Sharing concern over drought in various parts of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday pitched for water conservation through a mass movement as he pinned hopes on the Monsoon which is predicted to bring up to 110 per cent of rainfall this season.

In his monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’, he also talked about efforts to clean Ganga and Yamuna rivers, hoping that these will show results in some time.

Among other several issues, he delved on education, emphasising that the focus should now shift from enrolment to providing quality education.

During his 30-minute broadcast, Modi also expressed gratitude to one crore households which gave up LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) subsidy in response to his call and exhorted media to highlight positive news.

Talking about the drought situation in various parts of the country, he said concern over it is natural, particularly since prolonged drought leads to drop in water table in reservoirs.

“To fight the drought and water scarcity, the governments will do their work. But I have seen people also make their own efforts. In several villages, an awareness has been seen with regard to the value of water and in such places, there is sensitivity and a will to do something to conserve,” he said.

He referred to the weather forecast which has predicted that the country will receive 106 per cent to 110 per cent rainfall during this Monsoon and said such good news always brings peace.

“But this news brings new awareness also...While the news about good rainfall brings comfort, it also provides an opportunity and a challenge. Can we run a movement from village to village to preserve water?... To whatever extent possible, we must save water.

“The rain water should be preserved. The water of a village should remain in the village. If we make a resolve to do this, it is possible through a mass campaign. So even though we have a water crisis now, we have one and a half month to prepare (before the onset of monsoon),” he said.

While pitching for water conservation, the prime minister cited how in Mahatma Gandhi’s birthplace Porbandar, tanks have been built beneath the houses which are even 200 years old.

He also gave examples witnessed at various places, like changing of the crop pattern in view of scarce water and adoption of sprinklers, drip irrigation, water harvesting and water recharging methods.

Modi said he has been told that in Devas district of Madhya Pradesh, the Panchayat has been making efforts to build farm ponds, 27 of which have been constructed, resulting in rise in groundwater level.

Such methods also lead to improvement in the quality of water and pure water becomes a reason for GDP growth as well, he said.

He hailed the railways for the quickness it displayed in ferrying water to the water starved areas but said the villagers deserve more praise for adopting various innovative methods to fight drought.

“The government's good work sometimes comes to the fore but if we look around, we will see what kind of new methods people use to address the crisis,” Modi said.

Turning to efforts to clean Ganga, he said this process has been underway for about 30 years during which several governments came, a number of programmes were undertaken and ‘huge costs’ incurred.

“This task (of cleaning Ganga) can never succeed without people’s participation and that is we all have to become an agent of change in this,” he said.

“From government’s side, several efforts are being made. Efforts are being made to take utmost cooperation of states located on the banks of Ganga. Efforts are also being made to connect social and voluntary organisations with this. Several steps have been taken for surface cleaning and stopping industrial pollution,” he said.

To clean the large quantity of filth draining into Ganga every day, ‘trash skimmers’ have been put into service at places like Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Patna, the prime minister said.

The ‘trash skimmers’, which clean the filth while floating, have been provided to all local bodies and they have been urged to keep using these machines.

“In coming days, trash skimmers are planned to be put into service at more places and its benefits will be felt immediately by the people living on the banks of Ganga and Yamuna,” Modi said.

To stop industrial pollution caused by pulp and paper, distillery and sugar industry, an action plan has been prepared, he said, adding it is being implemented to some extent and felt that it will also bear good results.

He said officials have told him that there has been success in ensuring ‘zero liquid discharge’ from distillery in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and that discharge from pulp and paper industry or 'black liquor' has been almost stopped.

The prime minister said there is public faith that Ganga will be cleaned which will definitely bring success.

“For Ganga cleaning, people are even giving donations. This process is being done in a good way,” he said.

Modi also referred to the ‘Gram Uday se Bharat Uday’ campaign run by the government from April 14, the birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar, till today, the day celebrated as Panchayati Raj Day.

In this context, he pitched for strengthening the democracy at grassroots level so that local bodies are empowered to tackle issues like infrastructure, school dropout and saving the girl child.

During these 10 days, he said umpteen campaigns were run to create awareness at village level.

After a caller said there should be focus on quality of education as standards of students are not good, Modi said the concern was natural.

“So far, the mantra of ‘enrolment, enrolment’ has been ringing continuously. But now focus should be on providing good education, quality education to those children who reach the schools,” the prime minister said.

While contending that the government is laying thrust on providing good education, he acknowledged that ‘it is a long journey ahead’ but said that if 125 crore people decide, this long journey will also be completed.

He referred to the budget, saying it provides for giving freedom to universities to excel and compete at international level.

“Skill is equally important as education. Similarly, technology also has a big role to placy. Long distance education, technology will make our education easy and in the near future, the results will show. I am confident,” he said.