Though there is considerable increase in population, the quantity of rainfall has not decreased. People are facing scarcity of drinking water owing to lack of awareness on preserving and harvesting rainwater, water conservationist and Magsaysay award winner Rajendra Singh has said.
Speaking after inaugurating krishi mela organised as a part of Sharana Samskruthi Utsav on the premises of Bruhanmutt here on Tuesday, he said sustained efforts should be made to harvest rainwater and protect all water sources in the State and the elected representatives should come forward to protect them in order to avoid water scarcity in future. The elected representatives of Karnataka and Rajasthan should work jointly to solve the drinking water problem, he said. “Since the process of preserving water is not scientific and systematic in Karnataka, people are facing severe drinking water crisis. Awareness should be conducted from grassroots level in all the districts to ensure that groundwater table increases and rainwater is harvested,” he said. In Rajasthan, steps have been taken to rejuvenate more than five lakh wells that were completely dry. Such works should also be done in Karnataka, especially in Chitradurga district which has been continuously facing drought, he added.
Presiding over the function, Sri Shivamurthy Muruga Sharana informed that humans are facing a lot of problems owing to natural calamities owing to their own mistakes. Since central parts of Karnataka receive very less rainfall, efforts are on to study scientific methods that should be followed in farming to avoid farmers from incurring losses, he said.
The main objective of organising the krishi mela during the Sharana Samskruthi Utsav is to create awareness among farmers on how to use modern technology, he said. In order to tackle water problems, the elected representatives and different organisations should hold discussions together and take all precautionary measures, he added.
