Lauding the efforts of the BJP government in Rajasthan to address the water crisis in scarcity-hit areas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on the youth to add one water conservation activity to their daily routine.

He said conserving water resources, utilising every drop of water is not the responsibility of the government alone but that of the entire society.

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Addressing a well-attended public meeting at Dadiya village here on Tuesday after laying the foundation stone for the revised PKC-ERCP canal project and initiating works or inaugurating by remote many other projects, Modi said, “The water projects inaugurated today symbolised a permanent workable response (solution) to the water challenge in the scarcity-hit areas.”

A permanent solution to the water scarcity will initiate the changes in the development scenario to an extent that Rajasthan, in due course will emerge as the most connected and transformed state in the country, the PM said. “We made massive efforts in Gujarat by providing waters from the Narmada and the Sardar Sarovar down to the remotest and scarcity-hit areas of Gujarat,” he added.

“We did not restrict our efforts to Gujarat, rather were equally concerned with hardships being faced by people in many districts of adjourning Rajasthan, he said, adding it is a matter of satisfaction that many districts of this state right from Jalore, Sirohi to Jhunjhunu, and Hanumangarh have now been getting Narmada waters.

“It is not that I alone was happy, the other day, former vice president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and former Union minister Jaswant Singh had come to (Gujarat) CMO to express their gratitude for providing Narmada waters to Rajasthan. Sri Shekhawat was very emotional while praising me for that deed,” he said.

He called it an irony that while many regions frequently confront draught, several others face the problem of floods and the wasteful draining off.

In this context, he recalled decades ago, late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee propounded the vision of river linking to divert excessive discharge from the perennial water-rich rivers to the rivers and streams in scarcity-prone regions. However, the Congress was never keen on mitigating the water scarcity-related hardships of the peopl and the party did nothing.

As a result, the PM lamented that today waters from our rivers flowing wastefully across our borders while our areas face a shortage. The Congress did not even bother to resolve the disputes related to water sharing between various states, rather the party created complications in the interstate river water disputes.

Modi also hailed the campaign of rainwater harvesting being spearheaded by the Water Resources Ministry with people’s participation in the country. He said over three lakh rainwater harvesting structures have so far been created. This is a very effective way of recharging the (ground) water table.

Underlining the role of youths in a campaign of this sort Modi exhorted them to add at least one activity related to water conservation to their day-to-day routine.

The prime minister said the water and its adequacy is like “Paras patther” — philosopher’s stone –, a touch that could bring phenomenal development that transforms everything, the entire scenario. However, that needs firm and sincere resolve, we in the BJP have that resolve, Modi asserted, adding “We did the work resolutely, we did keep our promises and commitments, and that is why people have mandated us to power with good governance thrice in a row at the Centre”.

He recounted how BJP’s towering leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat laid the foundation for a developed Rajasthan during his multiple regimes. This course of development and good governance was carried forward by Ms Vasundhara Raje during her rule now has been given a new strides by the incumbent Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and his team.

It is the glorious track record of the BJP that has been given it electoral successes in more and more states including Haryana and Maharashtra, he added.

On the contrary, the previous Congress government in Rajasthan tarnished the image of the state and meted out injustice to youths. He said, “Paper leaks and scams in the recruitments did injustice to youth ruining their future while bringing disrepute to the state.

Now, the incumbent BJP-led government has recruited and/or opened up the process of recruitment for a large number of posts in several state government departments.

He has hailed various programmes and schemes of the Centre and/or the state like Bima Sakhi, Lakhpati Didi, Namo Drone Didi, Vishwakarma Pension Scheme and Rooftop Solar energy scheme.

Union Water Resources Minister CP Patil, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and his Rajasthan counterpart Bhajan Lal Sharma also spoke.