75 lakes in every district of India, Modi promises
Premium- During the Amrit Mahotsav, 75 amrit sarovars (lakes) will be built in every district of the country
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged people to conserve water to help deal with the water stress in the country and to experiment with making all their financial transactions on the digital mode, which is making transactions easier and is creating an environment of honesty.
In his radio address to the nation ‘mann ki baat,’ Modi said that rising temperature in the summer in most parts of the country heightened everyone’s responsibility to conserve water.
“It is possible that where you are, there is sufficient water. But we have to think about those people who live in areas facing water stress. For them every drop is like elixir," Modi said while referring to a campaign of building 75 lakes in every district. This campaign is part of commemorating the 75th anniversary of independence.
“In the 75th year of independence, water conservation is also a resolve of our nation. During the Amrit Mahotsav (commemorating 75 years of independence), 75 amrit sarovars (lakes) will be built in every district of the country. You can imagine how big the campaign is. The day is not far when there will be 75 lakes in your own city. I would like all of you, and especially the youth, to know about this campaign and also take the responsibility for it," Modi said in his speech delivered in Hindi.
Naming Patwai village in Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, Modi said work in this direction has started at many places at a fast pace. In Patwai, a lake which was earlier filled with garbage has been rejuvenated with participation from local people and school students. Now it has a retaining wall, boundary wall, food court, fountains and lighting, Modi said.
“The availability of water and the scarcity of water, these determine the progress and speed of any country," Modi said while urging people to resolve to conserve water.
The message to conserve water comes in the context of water shortage in many parts of the country. Federal policy think tank NITI Aayog had in a 2018 report flagged that about 600 million people faced high to extreme water stress and about 200,000 people die every year because of inadequate access to safe water. NITI Aayog had projected that by 2030, India’s water demand will be twice the available supply.
Modi also spoke about an experiment--‘cashless day out’—made by two girls in Delhi, urging everyone to follow suit. Modi said that wherever these girls went, digital payment facility was available, even for street food. He also referred to a family which travelled from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh to the North East-- from Assam to Meghalaya and to Arunachal Pradesh—being able to make all their payments digitally even in remote areas.
“In places where there was no good internet facility till a few years ago, now there is also the facility of payment through UPI," the Prime Minister said.
“I would also urge you to try the experiment of ‘Cashless Day Out’; definitely do it," the Prime Minister said. In the last few years, BHIM UPI has rapidly become a part of our economy and habits and even in small towns and in most villages, people are transacting through UPI itself, he said.
Modi said that in March, UPI transactions reached around ₹10 trillion. “Due to this, convenience is also increasing in the country and an atmosphere of honesty is also being created. Now many new start-ups related to fintech are also coming up. I would like you to share any experiences related to this power of digital payment and the start-up ecosystem. Your experiences can become an inspiration to many other countrymen," Modi said.
The Prime Minister also urged parents to teach their children vedic Mathematics to make them more confident about Mathematics.