‘Society must be empowered to protect natural resources’

Rajendra Singh says water conservation should be a people’s movement

DINDIGUL

Linking crop pattern with rain pattern, respecting water, making water conservation a people’s movement and protecting existing water resources alone would solve drinking water crisis in Tamil Nadu, said Rajendra Singh, water conservationist, who is referred to as ‘Water Man of India’.

Talking to media persons after inspecting a water conservation project at Neelamalaikottai village near here on Tuesday, he said compared to Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu had more rainfall and less population. But with no proper rainwater harvesting structure and storing facilities, four months’ rain drained into sea and people reeled under a water crisis.

“We have rejuvenated seven rivers in Rajasthan and one river in Karnataka. Retain, recharge, reuse, reduce and respect water are the five mantras to conserve water. Change of mindset is essential to transform conservation into a people’s movement. Society must be empowered to protect natural resources,” he added.

Like Cape Town, the country had 19 towns facing an acute water crisis. But unaware of the danger, people here polluted all rivers and converted them into sewage channels.

Water conservation work done at Neelamalaikottai through unification of efforts of the district administration, industries and the community was a role model for the nation. Collector T.G. Vinay’s efforts in uniting all on a single platform to revive a waterbody and retrieve encroached lands were remarkable. But this achievement could not be possible without the support of the community, he said and suggested that the level of the check dam at Neelamalaikottai should be increased by one metre to protect retrieved land.

Mr. Singh said another serious issue in Dindigul was the mismatch between crop and rainfall patterns. High water-consuming crops like coconut were cultivated on a large scale in the water-starved region. If farmers did not change the crop pattern, Dindigul would face an acute water crisis, he cautioned.

Ekta Parishad leader P.V. Rajagopal said Neelamalaikottai model could be replicated to rejuvenate waterbodies in other places. In the village, 400 acres of encroached lands were retrieved, he said.