Appealing to the people to work for improving the depleting groundwater level, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Friday said it is impossible to imagine life without water, so it is crucial to harvest rainwater for improving the groundwater level.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the “Groundwater Week” programme, the chief minister said to tackle the problem of depleting groundwater level, the state government made an Act in 2019 making it mandatory for new residential and commercial buildings to have provisions for rainwater harvesting.
“This resulted in an increase in the number of the rainwater harvesting systems in the state, which will meet future needs,” he said.
“We have to collect rainwater because the higher the groundwater level, the purer water we will get. On the contrary, the lower this level goes, the more complaints of arsenic and fluoride will be seen. This will also increase the risk of diseases.”
Adityanath said the best time for water conservation is during the rainy season because if we can save every drop at this time, then it will be an effort to save lives in the future.
Adityanath said the Groundwater Week programme, which began on July 16, is formally concluding today (Friday), but in reality, it will end on Saturday with a massive tree plantation drive.
“Under the tree plantation drive, 30 crore saplings will be planted in one day across the state. The programme will be completed with 5 crore sapling plantations on Independence Day. We all have to participate in the programme actively,” the chief minister said.
Stating that his government has made a difference through the Har Ghar Jal Programme in the past six years, Adityanath said, “People used to carry water on their heads for long distances in places like Bundelkhand and Vindhya earlier, but now every home has access to clean water with ease.”
The chief minister said that the state government is working to provide reverse osmosis (RO) water in these areas.
“If you wish Har Ghar Jal Yojana to be successful for a long time, then the people of the state will have to come forward and understand the importance of increasing the groundwater level because water requirements can be met by 80 to 90 per cent through groundwater,” he said.
Adityanath said the state government has been successful in conserving water through the Mission Amrit Sarovar at the district and block levels as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav programme.
“Everyone is well aware of the poor condition of the Ganga, which has significantly improved since the Namami Gange project was launched under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,”
he added.
