Highlights
- There is no water shortage in India: Nitin Gadkari
- Development can be ensured only when water is preserved: Nitin Gadkari
- Scientific approach needed in planning and conservation of water: Minister
Bandrabhan: Union minister Shipping and Water Resources Nitin Gadkari said that there was no shortage of water in the country but lack of planning leads to most of it flowing into the sea. Minister Gadkari was speaking at the inauguration of the two-day Nadi Mahotsav (River Festival) on the banks of the Narmada river in the Madhya Pradesh’s Hoshangabad district.
Calling water, forests, land and animals invaluable gifts from God, minister Gadkari said that development could be ensured only if these were preserved.
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We have to adopt a scientific approach in the planning and conservation of water in order to ensure a balance, he said.
Fondly remembering former Union minister for environment and forests Anil Madhav Dave who started the river festival here, Minister Gadkari said a lot of river conservation works were currently on and it was greatly benefiting people. Minister Dave died on May 18 last year.
We must enhance our efforts to conserve nature including plantation to ensure availability of water. We also have to work to convert waste into wealth with the help of technology, Minister Gadkari said.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was also present for the inauguration, said that 80 per cent of the 6.63 crore saplings planted during the Narmada Yatra in July last year were still alive.
Senior RSS functionary Suresh Soni cited the example of Jaisalmer as a city where work related to conserving ponds started nearly 700 years ago.
We can revive our rivers by using technology. A river is alive only when it flows from one source to other, he said at the inauguration ceremony.
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