NEW DELHI: With the water table dropping substantially in some parts of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the government is constructing five lakh ‘farming pools’ even as he urged people to resort to water conservation methods like creating small reservoirs.
In his monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’, he also asked the farming community to use less fertilizers and more modern technology, like the Farmers’ App, for their benefit.
Referring to the agriculture sector, he said water table is falling in parts of the country and said small reservoirs should be created to conserve the essential commodity.
He said the government, on its part, is constructing five lakh ‘khet talab’ ( farming pools) across the country.
Under MNREGA also, efforts are being made to conserve water, he said, as he pitched for a people’s movement for saving water.
The Prime Minister’s emphasis on building reservoirs comes against the backdrop of a substantial drop in the ground water table in parts of the country.
In western Maharashtra, the crisis has deepened and it recently triggered a law and order problem.
According to the Groundwater Surveys and Development Agency (GSDA), the water table level has dropped to 1 metre in about 540 villages across 13 talukas in Pune district.
@Agency report.
