India Water Week-2013
commences in New Delhi today
~Emphasis on Challenges and Opportunities in Efficient Water Management ~
~Emphasis on Challenges and Opportunities in Efficient Water Management ~
April 8, 2013, New Delhi: Highlighting
the issues related to judicious use of water and water-conservation, the second
edition of India Water Week-2013 being organised between 8th – 12th April 2013
with the theme “Efficient Water Management: Challenges and Opportunities”. was
inaugurated today at Vigyan Bhawan by Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab
Mukherjee. Also, present at the occasion were Shri Harish
Rawat, Union Minister for Water Resources,
Hon’ble
Kausea Natano, Deputy Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Ambassadors of various
countries, Secretaries of various union ministries, Principal Secretaries of
States & Senior Officers from the Ministries and its associated Organizations.
Experts
from various sectors such as irrigation, water-supply, hydro and thermal
energy-production, steel, cement had gathered at the capital today for a
five-day long event which will have a conference-cum-policy dialogue forum
coupled with a Business to Business exhibition. The event’s theme this year is
“Efficient Water Management: Challenges and Opportunities” which focuses on framing policies that
would recognize water as an integral part of the eco-system, a precious natural
resource with a social and economic value and to implement these policies for
the prosperity and well being of mankind.
Welcoming
the president and the audience, Mr. S. K. Sarkar, Secretary, Ministry of water
Resources said, “It is my privilege to welcome you to the second edition of
India Water Week 2013 thematised on ‘Efficient Water
Management: Challenges and Opportunities.’ As water is a scarce natural
resource, it proves to show India is facing a severe danger of depleting water
resource. Availability of water has declined and demand has risen in the past
year in all the sectors. As our population has risen to 1.7 billion people,
this theme of water conservation is even more important and apt at present. So
the availability and management of water in agriculture, irrigation and
domestic use is very important. At this conference, we aim and propose to
improved efficiency and organizing of water efficiency. More than 1,000
delegates are expected to participate in our endeavor. I extend a special
thanks to the president, Minister of Water Resources and all the people present
to have come and graced the occasion.”
Thanking
and welcoming the president, Mr. Harish Rawat, Union Minister of Water
Resources said, “Respected President, your presence here is tantamount to the
importance, being given to the water sector, in our country. Your blessings
will go in a long way, in inspiring us for putting the whole-hearted efforts,
in addressing the water related challenges, and bringing solutions for them.
Since 2012, the Ministry
of Water Resources is celebrating the India Water Week, to showcase our
sincerity and efforts, in exhibiting the importance given to the water sector
in the country. India Water Week, a five day long event, provides excellent
forum for policy planner, water managers, professionals, scientists,
academicians, non-governmental organisations, and other stakeholders, to
deliberate on the issues therein. The event provides us platform, to share the
best practices, adopted across the world. It has helped us in generating
innovative ideas, and recognising the significant works, by the individuals and
the organisations. Growing population and urbanisation, combined with fast
increasing developmental needs, have put a tremendous pressure, on our water
availability. I am quite hopeful that, we will get whole-hearted support from
the Planning Commission, and the Ministry of Finance, for achieving target,
fixed by my Ministry, under AIBP, RRR, DRIP programmes which, are crucial to
increase the storage capacity, to meet the challenges of future. Continuous
depletion of ground water is another challenge before us. We have about 802
over exploited talukas, 169 critical talukas, and 523 semi-critical talukas, as
far as ground water situation is concerned.
It calls for serious all round action programme, to augment the ground
water resources in these areas. We have also laid emphasis on incentivizing the
use of efficient irrigation practices, recycling of water, including wastewater
in different manners. Undertaking pilot
projects for improvement in water use efficiency, in collaboration with States,
has also been proposed in National Water Mission.
Our scheme for
“Information, Education and Communication” is aimed, to create awareness among
various target groups, about the importance of development and management of
water resources, in a holistic manner. Effective transfer of technology and
knowledge, and sharing of experiences among developed and developing countries,
and their implementation, need to be promoted, to further the cause of
efficient water management. Sir, India Water Week 2013, will be able to provide
opportunities, to usher in new & innovative thinking, and will come out
with the best practicable solutions.”
After lightning the
ceremonial lamp at the inaugural of India Water Week 2013, Mr. Pranab
Mukherjee, President of India said, “I am delighted to join you for the
inauguration of the India water week organized by the ministry of Water
Resources. It is a privilege to be a part of this august gathering comprising
renowned public figures, policy makers, experts and professionals. The available
water must be managed judiciously to meet the twin burden of population growth
and economic development. Conservation, balanced distribution and reclamation
of used water are essential cogs in the wheel of water management. As part of
the national action plan on climate change, the national water mission was
launched in 2011 with the objectives of water conservation, minimization of
wastage and equitable distribution. I urge all stakeholders to work towards its
success. Our efforts must be directed at mitigating the regional imbalance in
water availability. Equitable allocation of water across the country could be
made possible by inter-basin water transfer. But for that, the environmental
and socio-economic impact should be studied before such an initiative is
envisaged. We must also strive to achieve equity in the allocation of water
between urban and rural areas. Rain water harvesting should be popularized by
dovetailing existing rural development schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The 3R strategy of reduce, recycle and reuse
must find application in our farmlands. Our system should encourage judicious
use of water. I am hopeful that the India Water Week 2013 would be able to
provide meaningful solutions and guide our approach to water management. I also
expect the Water Expo 2013 to showcase exciting technological possibilities for
sustaining this vital resource.”
About India Water Week-2013
On behalf of the Ministry of Water Resources in
association with other Union Ministries: Ministry of Urban Development,
Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Drinking Water Supply and
Sanitation, Ministry of Environment and Forest, National Water Development
Agency, Central Water Commission, National Institute of Hydrology, Planning
Commission and with active support of various State Governments, Industries,
NGOs and others are organising the 2nd India Water Week 2013
The event will have a conference-cum-policy dialogue forum coupled with a
Business to Business exhibition. This year's Water Week have two
major components namely, a multi-disciplinary dialogue in the form of a
conference and a concurrently running exhibition enriching the theme and
showcasing the technologies in water sector for efficient use and management of
water resources.
The India
Water Week-2013 is targeted at International
and National audience comprising of policy planners and technologists involved
with water resources management in all key sectors of economy like Agriculture
and Irrigation, Energy and Industry.
The
exhibition conducted simultaneously with the International Conference on the
same subject will provide the Small & Medium Enterprises an international
platform & a world class exposure, to develop their skills & providing
them the accurate knowledge to increase their profits & by teaching them
the corrective measures to grow & adopting the new & advanced
technology. Besides, identifying, encouraging the progress in the Water
Industry and the allied ministries.
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