New Delhi [India], April 13 (ANI): Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Wednesday presided over the ‘Namami Gange: Universities Connect’ occasion, the place an settlement was signed with 49 universities to foster consciousness among the many youth on water conservation normally and river rejuvenation specifically, Ministry of Jal Shakti mentioned in an announcement.
The MoU goals to deliver the scholar neighborhood to the forefront of the mass motion for making a sustainable ecosystem of our rivers. Apart from looking for energetic public participation, the occasion may even be historic in direction of creating knowledge-based short-term programmes, and coaching classes, and fostering extra analysis on the water sector.
Through the NMCG initiative, many larger instructional establishments pledged their assist in direction of the reason for river rejuvenation and water conservation and create holistic platforms for youthful generations to grow to be aware members in direction of a sustainable ecosystem. The theme of the occasion was ‘Igniting Young Minds, Rejuvenating Rivers’.
Addressing the gathering, Shekhawat asserted “Water is not just an important factor or commodity but no life can be imagined without water and that makes effective water management absolutely essential”.
Shekhawat said that making certain the cleanliness and purity of River Ganga with the rejuvenation of rivers are the prime aims of the Namami Gange Mission. “Water is a crucial factor in sustaining life. India’s cultural history saw water as the holiest source that sustains life in all forms, and over time that culture has eroded. We as a society have an immense responsibility to revive that culture.”The Union Minister identified sure impacting elements on kids’s growth, together with dad and mom, who, within the Indian custom, used to speak about numerous elements of life together with nature, tradition, nation, duties and so on. Teachers, he mentioned, additionally play an essential position in creating an influence on the kids and, subsequently, it turns into, crucial for the lecturers to inculcate respect in direction of pure assets as per our conventional knowledge and practices via instructional frameworks.
The Union Minister mentioned, likewise, celebrities, media, judiciary and different members of the civil society should come collectively and begin discussing and debating points associated to our pure assets, particularly water, to make India a water-wise nation.
He steered organising debates and different competitions within the universities to unfold consciousness of the significance of water conservation and river rejuvenation and urged the main educators to try to make their campuses inexperienced and water environment friendly.
Shedding gentle on the truth that the agriculture sector makes use of the majority of India’s water assets, he mentioned that demand-side administration is the necessity of the hour. “The world is appreciating us and India has invested more than 240 billion dollars in the water sector but the challenge in front of us is also enormous and we must all play our part in contributing to conserving water and increasing water use efficiency,” he mentioned, including, “We are not the owners of our natural resources but only custodians and it is everyone’s duty to return to the future generation as we inherited from our forefathers.”He reiterated the significance of the 5Ps espoused by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to make such programmes profitable together with political will, public spending, partnership public participation and persuasion. He mentioned that at this time practically 50 universities are signing the MoU and it’s not simply 50 folks becoming a member of fingers however hundreds who would finally grow to be a part of this motion.
Delivering the keynote handle, G. Asok Kumar mentioned that everybody is aware of the significance of water. What we’re in search of with numerous collaborations is to unfold the online far and extensive to catch as many ambassadors of water and rivers as we will. “Water sector was not given the attention it deserves and was viewed as just a water resource. This has changed with the vision of the Prime Minister, who has given a clarion call to make Jal Andolan a Jan Andolan,”DG, NMCG mentioned, including, “It is the younger generations that will be bearing the brunt of the water scarcity and therefore it is most necessary to ignite them to start respecting water, which was ingrained in our traditional values. We have to bring back the respect towards water and rivers, which is there in our Puranas and our traditional wisdom.”In the context of the collaboration between Namami Gange and tutorial establishments, DG, NMCG mentioned that like Jan Bhagidari, at this time, we’re transferring ahead within the path of ‘Gyan Bhagidari’. He additionally drew similarities between the Jal Shakti and the facility of the youth, each of which might go astray and wreak havoc if not channelized in a correct means.
DG, NMCG congratulated all of the members and dignitaries from the academia and urged them to take steps within the path of bringing again the respect for water among the many younger college students of their establishments. He additionally mentioned that the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain: Where it Falls, When it Falls marketing campaign launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on the event of the World Water Day 2021 is a noble means of nudging folks to preserve extra water. “More than 4.7 million water harvesting structures were made as part of that campaign,” he famous.
DG, NMCG knowledgeable that Namami Gange has been recognised by the United Nations as one of many prime ten World Restoration Flagships and mentioned that India additionally participated within the UN World Water Conference 2023 which was organised on the UN Headquarters in New York after a spot of greater than 40 years.
“It was a rare privileged moment for us as people initially thought it was impossible to clean Ganga but a lot of success has been achieved in the mainstream of River Ganga evidenced in the form of improved water quality and thriving biodiversity, especially the Gangetic Dolphins. We were picked from among 170 countries around the globe The focus is now on the tributaries of Ganga,” he mentioned.
DG, NMCG mentioned on the world stage programmes like Swachh Bharat Mission, Jal Jeevan Mission and Namami Gange, masking numerous elements of the river rejuvenation, are being acknowledged. He added that India wants extra social abilities, expertise options, and information administration to make additional strides within the water sector. (ANI)