Gadkari emphasises on interlinking rivers

Union Road Transport and Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said that there is a need for interlinking of rivers at the earliest on the lines of power grids for providing water to parched areas.

Addressing the second edition of India Water Impact Summit, the minister said the river connectivity programme can reduce water crisis in "critical areas" of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Maharashtra.

The minister also said that the availability of water is not the problem in the country, but people need to learn to manage and conserve it.

He said the government's plan to double the income of farmers by 2022 cannot be achieved sans proper water management.

The minister stressed that enhancing drip and pipe irrigation will reduce wastage of water and will be cost effective for farmers.

Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation Uma Bharti, who also attended the event, said that apart from the government programme, the willpower of the common man is important to achieve the goal of "aviral and nirmal Ganga" (clean Ganga and unfettered flow in it).

Speaking at the event, Secretary (Water Resources) U P Singh expressed concern on the declining level of groundwater in many parts of the country.

Referring to a survey conducted under national aquifer mapping programme, he said that groundwater level has reached an "alarmingly" low level in many areas, while per capita availability is also reducing.