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With large parts of rural India reeling under drought and most of the country facing unprecedented heat conditions and water scarcity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again appealed to the people to save every drop of water and conserve forests.
“Water is God’s gift and we should feel the pain even if a single drop is wasted….Protecting water and forests is our duty… I appeal to the citizens to pledge to not waste water in June, July, August and September this year,” he said in the 20{+t}{+h} edition of his monthly radio broadcast, Mann Ki Baat, on Sunday.
Blaming mankind for ruining nature, Modi cited the incidences of the recent forest fires in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir and reminded people that on World Environment Day on June 5 this year, the United Nations had flagged the theme of “Zero Tolerance for Illegal Wildlife Trade.”
Modi also appealed to States to use technology to mitigate drought conditions. “Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have used technology very well to mitigate drought. Jan Bhagidari (people’s participation) is also vital, he said, appealing to the media to also carry out water conservation campaigns.
The Prime Minister said he had asked the NITI Aayog to help replicate ‘best practices’ in water and drought management, such as drip and micro irrigation, check dams, groundwater recharging technology, in other States.
Rio Olympics
With the upcoming Rio Olympics in mind, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of sportsmanship rather than winning or losing.
“When we talk about the Olympics we do feel sad at the medal tally. But we need to create the right atmosphere to encourage athletes. It is important to be positive about our athletes. Let us not worry about the results,” he said.
He praised Sports Minister Sarbanand Sonowal, BJP’s Chief Ministerial candidate in Assam who steered the party to victory and helped widen its footprint in the North-East, for his devotion to work. “I want to appreciate Sarbanand Sonowal. There were polls, he was a CM candidate but he performed his duty as a Sports Minister by visiting Patiala to oversee proper arrangements for sportspersons. This is a big thing,” Modi added.
Among the other topics that the Prime Minister touched upon in his address were the recent CBSE results and the importance of learning and skilling rather than marks, as also the need to have a healthy mind and body by devoting some time to Yoga each day.
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