The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Second India Water Forum 2013 today (October 28, 2013) at a function at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that our country’s agriculture is a big demand centre for water. Water management in this sector is therefore crucial for overall sustainability of our water resource. The 3 R strategy of reduce, recycle and reuse has to find application in our farmlands. He stated that our irrigation system has to encourage judicious use of water and efforts at recycling and reuse of wastewater have to be doubled. He said that rain water harvesting has to be popularized by dovetailing existing rural development schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme. Our initiatives at integrated watershed development have to aim at increasing the soil moisture, reducing the sediment yield and improving water productivity, he said.
The President stated that the reach of the poor to safe drinking water has to be enhanced by developing mid-market technologies that can deliver affordable water treatment devices. Micro finance institutions have to be engaged to acquire devices and encourage shared access to safe drinking water.
The President said that with the expertise that TERI commands in areas like integrated water resources management, climate change, and domestic and industrial water management, he was happy that TERI has chosen to take the lead in organizing the event. He stated that he was certain that the three day Conference would witness comprehensive and dispassionate deliberations on various aspects of water use efficiency, which will help to develop a consensual understanding on water use management.
Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Union Minister of Water Resources, Shri Harish Rawat, Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Shri Shashi Tharoor and Director General of TERI, Dr. R. K. Pachauri.
The Second India Water Forum is organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) with support of Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and the Water and Sanitation Program of the World Bank.
This release issued at 1400 hrs