New Delhi, March 23,
2022.
On the occasion of World Water Day 2022, Hon’ble Minister of State for Jal Shakti & Food Processing
Industries Mr. Prahlad Singh Patel called upon people to efficiently use
water for saving valuable resources for our future generation. He was speaking
at a function - ‘Groundwater – Making
the invisible visible’- organized by Dhanuka Group in association with
FICCI, IRMA, VAMNICOM, IIPA - Delhi Regional Chapter and CNRI
“The situation of Groundwater is
indeed alarming and there is an urgent need for behavioral change. The
Government led by Hon’ble Shri Narendra Modi Ji enjoys the faith and confidence
of people, which is vital for bringing about behavioral change. For the effective
success of a social cause, people need to have determination and commitment and
that requires some inspiration and trust in the leadership. Under the
leadership of Modi Ji, we pledged to make our country open defecation free and
we have succeeded in it. This is a classic example of behavioral change. A
similar behavioral change is required for water conservation. We need to save
every drop of water and the change should come from us, ”Mr. Prahlad Singh Patel said.
Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Ramesh Chand, Member, Niti Aayog
expressed serious concern about our cropping pattern. “India accounts for 18%
of the world’s population, 2.4% of land and 4% of water. If we look at these
ratios, we should have been facing scarcity of land more than water. But it is
not so. When it comes to land, there is more concern of quality than quantity
whereas when it comes to water we have issues with both quality and quantity.
The reason behind the same is that we are not making water available in
accordance with demand. The demand for water is rising at a faster rate, the
availability of water is also increasing but still, there is a gap between the
rate at which demand of water is growing and the rate at which the availability
is improving. This gap has its own reasons, consequences, and explanations. The
biggest explanation is that in the last 30 years our cropping pattern, our
technique of crop cultivation, and our preferences have turned water-intensive.”
“If we evaluate at a regular interval
of a decade, we would find that the quantity of water consumption for producing
one kilogram of the crop has increased decade over decade. On the other hand,
land used for producing that one kilogram of the crop has reduced over time. It
simply means, we always focused on productivity of crop per hectare or per acre
and did not give required attention towards per cubic of water used for growing
of crop,” Mr. Ramesh Chand added.
Alluding to the need for
‘Bio-diversity’, Dr. Ashok Dalwai, CEO,
National Rainfed Area Authority said, “In our country, we have ample
bio-diversity but at the same we are also destroying biodiversity by cutting
forest, destroying pastureland and compromising water bodies. We need to keep
our land green as much as possible. Growing grass or agro-forestry may play a
vital role in it.”
Earlier setting the tone for the
event, Mr. R. G. Agarwal, Chairman,
Dhanuka Group emphasized on the need for adoption of modern technologies for
agricultural purposes.
“We need precision agriculture today. Adoption of water-saving technologies such as
sprinkler and drip irrigation systems. Besides time, the usage of Drone
technology for spraying pesticides and fertilisers would also help in saving a substantial
amount of water being used for agriculture purposes. The need of the hour is
states must also work on water conservation on a priority basis, govern local
irrigation systems, encourage its efficient use, and promote conservation
through building dams, reservoirs, etc,” Mr.
R. G. Agarwal said,
Mr.
Agarwal also spoke about the need to create awareness about water
conservation among students as well as children.
Mr. Mahendra K Dhanuka, MD, Dhanuka Group; Mr Rajvir Sharma, Chairman, Delhi
Regional Branch, IIPA and Mr. Binod Anand, Secretary General,
CNRI also addressed the gathering and shared their valuable inputs on this
critical issue.
It is pertinent to mention here that for
more than a decade, Dhanuka Group has been at the forefront of spreading
awareness and promoting sustainable use of water in agriculture and other
economic activities. The Group has been educating and spreading awareness on
water conservation through its flagship campaign “Khet ka pani khet mein aur
gaon ka pani gaon mein”. In the past, to conserve rain water,company has also
funded the construction of check dams at Jugalpura, Devipura (District Sikar),
MainpurakiDhani and Sankotra, (Jaipur district), Rajasthan, which are now fully
operational and have been filled with rainwater.