Water security is a major issue for India and its conservation is a shared responsibility, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday as he raised concerns over water pollution and depletion of groundwater.
“Due to such a large population, water security is an important concern for India. It is a shared responsibility of all of us… There shall be a tomorrow only if there is water, and for this we have to make joint efforts from today,” Modi said while launching Jal Jan Abhiyan through video conferencing in Rajasthan’s Sirohi district.
The nationwide campaign is a joint initiative by Brahma Kumaris, an organisation which promotes spirituality, and the Union jal shakti ministry. As part of the campaign, members of Brahma Kumaris will raise awareness about water conservation by conducting public campaigns across the country for eight months. The target of the campaign is to reach at least 100 million people.
Highlighting the central government’s efforts towards curbing water pollution and groundwater depletion, the PM said: “The country has started the Catch the Rain movement, which is now progressing rapidly. Water conservation is also being promoted in thousands of gram panchayats of the country through Atal Bhujal Yojana.”
The PM expressed satisfaction that the country has turned water conservation into a mass movement, pointing out that it has been a part of India’s spirituality for thousands of years. “Water conservation is the culture of our society and the centre of our social thinking… That’s why we consider water to be God and our rivers as mothers,” he said.
Calling for the revival of the country’s “emotional connection” with nature, he said: “When a society makes such an emotional connection with nature, the world calls it sustainable development.”
“We have to recreate the same faith among countrymen towards the value of water conservation,” he added.
Hitting out at the previous governments, the prime minister said there has been negativity towards issues like water conservation and environment protection over the past few decades.
Some people had assumed that these tasks are so big that they cannot be tackled at all, he said.
“But in the last eight or nine years, the country has changed this mindset and the conditions have also changed,” he said, terming Namami Gange river conservation scheme an example. The scheme has emerged as a model for different states, he added.
The PM also underlined the contributions of women in water conservation, while lauding their efforts in making schemes like the Jal Jeevan Mission successful in villages. “Brahma Kumari sisters can play a similar role in the country as well as at the global level,” he said.
Modi also pitched for inclusion of millets in the diet, reminding that their cultivation requires less water.
The United Nations has declared 2023 as the International Year of the Millet.
Union jal shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, actor Nana Patekar and erstwhile Mewar royal family member Lakshyaraj Singh attended the event.