Water harvesting must for agriculture: CM

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 2

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has emphasised on the creation of water corpus like concept which includes flurry of measures for rain water harvesting and effective usage of rain water.

The Chief Minister was addressing the inaugural session on three-day Summit on Climate Resilient Mountain Agriculture that started in Dehradun on Wednesday. He said rain water harvesting was very important for sustaining agriculture in Uttarakhand. He said Uttarakhand had limited land for agriculture and even most of this land falls under non irrigated category. Thus, it was important that the latest agriculture techniques and rainwater harvesting are used to get optimum productivity.

He also reminded that only 0.4 percent of rainwater is put to use and the rest flows away unutilised. He also called for a change in mindset towards importance of water conservation. “We need to create a water corpus like concept that should encourage various water conservation efforts and rain water harvesting in particular”, chief minister pointed out.

Trivendra Rawat also suggested undertaking value addition in local products. He referred to Prime Minister recent Mann Ki Baat address in which he talked of Bageshwar women efforts, who are selling biscuits prepared from Mandua floor. “With changing times, we have to undertake value addition in our local products”, he added.

He apprised that self-help groups were preparing organic prasad that was being provided to the pilgrims visiting the shrine. He said women self help groups in Badrinath recorded profit to the tune of Rs 9 lakh rupees during last Char Dham yatra season. He said demand for aromatic oils had increased manifold and thus agriculture of aromatic plants need to be encouraged.

During his address, the Chief Minister also did not fail to mention his efforts to rejuvenate Rispana and Kosi rivers in Uttarakhand. He said large number of tree saplings will be planted alongside these rivers in a bid to revive them.

The Chief Minister also felicitated nine Gram Panchayats, who have excelled in water conservation efforts. He also released booklets on Climate Resilient Initiatives. Uttarakhand Watershed Management Minister Satpal Maharaj, Dehradun Cantt MLA Harbans Kapoor, Padam Shri Dr Shekhar Pathak, Forest Research Institute’s Director Dr Savita were prominent present on the occasion.

0.4 pc rainwater used

• The Chief Minister said that only 0.4 percent of rainwater is put to use and the rest is flows away unutilised. 
• He also called for a change in mindset towards importance of water conservation. 
• “We need to create a water corpus like concept that should encourage various water conservation efforts and rain water harvesting in particular”, Chief Minister pointed out.