The Tamil Nadu River Retrieval Movement on Sunday mooted the formation of water literacy centre in the State so as to maximise the efficient utilisation of river, tank and groundwater sources.
Briefing about the resolutions adopted at the two-day colloquium on ‘Cauvery-Strategies to Rejuvenate River Basin Resources and Water Bodies’ at Ramakrishna Thapovanam, Thirupparaithurai, Rajeendar Singh, Water Conservationist and Environmentalist, said that groundwater extraction in Tamil Nadu had reached an alarming level. The indiscriminate extraction of groundwater was a big threat to the environment and humankind. The groundwater had to be recharged at regular intervals. Hence, the need of the hour was to establish water literacy centres at the State, district and area-specific levels with the mandate of carrying out water auditing and budgeting with the farmers.
Stressing the importance of protecting the lower riparian rights of Cauvery river, Mr. Singh said the stakeholders and the States concerned should ensure the riparian rights. It was the responsibility of the States to ensure water ethics and water justice. “The water rights should be dealt equivalent to human rights and conflicts,” he said.
Mr. Singh said that the impact of global warming and climate had been clearly felt in the country. Change in rainfall pattern has been witnessed across the country, including Tamil Nadu. Farmers need to have a good knowledge regarding the rainfall pattern. Depending on the change, the farmers should adapt to new crop pattern so as to maximise the output with minimum water usage.
It has been noted that the course of several major rivers and their tributaries have been encroached upon. The State does not seem to have an efficient mechanism to evict the encroachments, he said, calling for a widespread campaign to identify, demarcate and declare the boundaries of all waterbodies so as to inform the public about them.
Stating that several rivers were facing extinction due to various factors, Mr. Singh said that the Tamil Nadu River Retrieval Movement had decided to launch an awareness campaign across the State. It would start with ‘Save the Vaigai’ river and its tributaries. Volunteers and farmers would walk along the river to create awareness on the need to protect and rejuvenate the Vaigai, he added.
T. Gurusamy, coordinator, Tamil Nadu River Retrieval Movement; Mannargudi S. Ranganathan, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Cauvery Delta Farmers Welfare Association, and others spoke.