Gujarat is reeling under acute water scarcity and the situation may worsen in the coming summer months as Sardar Sarovar Dam, a major source, has low water levels. In the wake of the ongoing water crisis in the region, the state government has decided to focus on water conservation. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani held a meeting with stakeholders on Wednesday to finalise the blue print of the water conservation programme that will be carried out between May 1 and May 31.
Speaking to media persons after the meeting, the CM said: “We are planning to launch a state-level programme for water conservation. We met people from outside the government who work in this sector. We will release the details of the programme later and make announcements so that people of the state can also do their bit for conservation of water.”
Rupani also said that his government has decided to increase the water-storage capacity in the state by next monsoon so that such as situation of water crisis could be avoided next year. The chief minister said the government would push for the construction of more check dams, ponds and reservoirs in the state. The CM said that this would increase the water-storage capacity in the state manifold through the join efforts of the government, citizens and other organisations.
“We are going to run Jal Sanchay Abhiyan during the entire month of May and that will be done with people’s participation,” said Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel. “There are NGOs, individuals and other institutions who are willing to work with us. We will carry out other programmes including construction of check dams, desilting of reservoirs and rainwater harvesting in houses during the period.”
The government is also encouraging people to donate money so that a corpus along the lines of Kanya Kelavni Nidhi (corpus to educate girl child in state) could be built. Patel said people could also contribute by giving time and effort towards the programme. He said people in rural areas were welcomed to help with the construction work.
“We have decided to increase the storage capacity of reservoirs in the state and desilting of the dam reservoirs will be a priority so that more water can be stored. Moreover, we will deploy earth-moving equipment at dam sites so that farmers can come there with transport vehicles and collect silt which is very fertile for farmlands,” Patel added.
STORING WATER
- CM Rupani said that his government has decided to increase the water-storage capacity.
- The government would push for the construction of more check dams, ponds and reservoirs in the state.
- It’s also encouraging people to donate money so that a corpus on the lines of Kanya Kelavni Nidhi could be built.
