Narendra Modi plans 5 lakh pools to shore up water

New Delhi: With the water table dropping substantially in some parts of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday 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 fertilisers and more modern technology, like the Farmers’ App, for their benefit. He spoke about India hosting the FIFA Under-17 World Cup football tournament next year and said it was a great opportunity for branding the country at the international level.

During the 30-minute programme, Mr Modi, who greeted the nation on the occasion of Easter,  also talked about how the government was developing all the five places associated with Dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar on the occasion of his 125th birth anniversary which falls on April 14.

While referring to the agriculture sector, he said the water table was 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’.

Under the MNREGA, efforts were being made to conserve water, he said, as he pitched for a people’s movement to save water.

His 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, the water table level has dropped to 1 metre in about 540 villages in Pune district.