Chief Minister Raman Singh has advised farmers receiving surface water for irrigating their crops not to utilise ground water for the same.
In his eighth episode of Radio programme titled Raman Ke Goth on Sunday, the Chief Minister remarked: “In many villages I have seen that despite having surface water source of irrigation, where farmers may easily irrigate their crops, there also are farmers using ground water power pumps for irrigation. This situation doesn’t seem good.”
“As far as possible, we should use surface water source for irrigation and save ground water for next generation,” he said.
Undue exploitation of ground water leads to contamination of water from hand pumps with fluoride content, consumption of which is harmful for human body, Singh said.
“We have seen that villages not only have source of drinking water but also have power pumps and more number of hand pumps. If I talk about on Rajnandgaon district, it has 17,600 hand pumps and more than 31,000 power pumps, he said.
Use of so many power pumps leads to decline in ground water level. And the summer paddy crop requires lot of water supply, Singh said.
Three thousand litres of water is required for one kg paddy. If 100 pumps are operating in one village, then soon the ground water level in that village will decline. We have noticed that stopping use of so many pumps has resulted in ample water supply through hand pumps, he said.
In year 2009, there were only three to four villages in the State that faced problem of fluoride content in water. But now, this number has increased to 405, and main reason for this is excessive use of ground water, Singh said.
“Hence, I now not only appeal but pray you to conserve ground water in your respective villages, hamlets and also use rainwater-harvesting technique for ground water augmentation”, the Chief Minister urged.Make structure for water harvesting technique in Panchayat buildings, school buildings and other government buildings from now itself, and for this we may use MNREGA. If we make arrangement for recharging in each village; we conserve water of the village in village itself by making better structures and then we will not have to face water crisis in future, he said.
Veteran litterateur Dr Pardeshi Ram Verma said in the context that Raman Ke Goth programme is becoming popular because it covers the issues and topics of public interest.
The Chief Minister’s effort to bring awareness towards water conservation through his programme is commendable, he said.
Dr Verma said on Sunday’s episode that the Chief Minister underlined the importance of Dr Bheemrao Ambedkar Jayanti and commemorated his contribution in the field of education, which is really appreciable.
The Chief Minister’s advise on education, health and water conservation is also very useful, he said.
Veteran Poet of Raipur Dr Surendra Dubey said Raman Ke Goth was a reflection of culture and values of Chhattisgarh. It is a pledge of development. Main objective of this programme is to connect with common people and take immediate decision for redressal of their grievances.
The Chief Minister has captured heart of each and every citizen in rural areas by highlighting the importance of traditional festivals of Chhattisgarh, he said.
Environmentalist of Mahasamund district Vishwanath Panigrahi said that Chief Minister is himself a doctor and his advice to women about taking care of their children’s health during summer season is the sign of his sensitiveness.
He also alerted people about water crisis in summer season and appealed people to save water.
Director of Green Commando Wing deployed for water conservation and environment conservation Kanker district Virendra Kumar also praised the Chief Minister for his message of water conservation in Raman Ke Goth programme.