On World Water Day, PM Modi launched the 'Catch the Rain' campaign
On World Water Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches the 'Catch the Rain' campaign.
'Catch the Rain' campaign aims to ''conserve rainwater when it falls, where it falls so that water reaches every corner of the nation.'' PM Modi launched the campaign via video conferencing today. The 'Catch the Rain' campaign, focusing on water security, will go on from March 22 to November 30, covering the pre-monsoon and monsoon seaon in the country. It will also encourage ''water conservation at the grass-root level through people's participation.'' The United Nations designated World Water Day is being marked across the globe and the theme this year is ''Valuing Water''.
World Water Day: Ken-Betwa Link Project and how it will help water deficient Bundelkhand region
On World Water Day, a landmark water-sharing agreement has been signed between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The multi-purpose Ken-Betwa Link Project is aimed at benefitting the people in the parched areas of Bundelkhand. The interlinking of the Ken and the Betwa rivers involves the transfer of water through the construction of Daudhan Dam and a canal. It will provide water for irrigating 10.62 lakh hectares, drinking water to about 62 lakh people and also generate 103 MW of hydropower.
According to a government statement, the Ken-Betwa Link Project ''will pave the way for more interlinking of rivers to ensure that scarcity of water does not become an inhibitor for development in the country.'' Not only will the Ken-Betwa Project provide irrigation and drinking water, it will also help the local ecology. A tributary of the Yamuna, the Betwa River is the winter habitat to a large number of migratory birds including Bar-headed Goose, Greylag Goose and Knob-billed Duck.
World Water Day and India
''Our small acts of water conservation can collectively have bigger impact, such as improving the lives of women working in fields. Save water for an equal world,'' it the ministry said on World Water Day.