New Delhi: The government has signed an agreement with 49 universities to foster awareness among the youth on water conservation and river rejuvenation.
The MoU aims to bring the student community to the forefront of the mass movement for creating a sustainable ecosystem of our rivers.
Apart from seeking active public participation, the event will also be historical towards creating knowledge-based short-term programmes, training sessions, and fostering more research on the water sector.
Through the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) initiative, many higher educational institutions pledged their support towards the cause of river rejuvenation and water conservation.
The theme of the event was ‘Igniting Young Minds, Rejuvenating Rivers’.
Addressing the gathering, Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that “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 stated that ensuring cleanliness and purity of River Ganga with the rejuvenation of rivers are the prime objectives of the Namami Gange Mission.
“Water is a crucial factor to sustain 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 immense responsibility to revive that culture” he added
“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 conserve water and increase water use efficiency,” he said.
In the context of the collaboration between Namami Gange and academic institutions, DG, NMCG said 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.
He further said that a need to develop a worldwide network of universities is being felt and in that context, today marks a historic day in connecting with the important stakeholders to make Namami Gange a Jan Andolan.
Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain: Where it Falls, When it Falls campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of the World Water Day 2021 is a noble way of nudging people to conserve more water.
More than 4.7 million water harvesting structures were made as part of that campaign. The Namami Gange has been recognised by the United Nations as one of the top ten World Restoration Flagship.
