UNDERLINING the importance of collective responsibility towards water conservation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for a 100-day campaign to clean up all water bodies and prepare them for rain water harvesting before the monsoon season starts. In his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ broadcast, Modi said water has been crucial for the development of humankind for centuries. “We have to understand our collective responsibility towards water conservation,” he said. The Prime Minister also said that when people feel proud of indigenous products then Atmanirbhar Bharat does not just remain an economic programme but becomes a national spirit. Noting that monsoon will begin in many parts of the country by around May-June, the Prime Minister asked can there be a 100-day public campaign to clean up all nearby water bodies and prepare those for rain water conservation.

 

In this regard, the Union Jal Shakti Ministry is also launching “Catch the rain” campaign and its main theme is “catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls”, he said. “This is the best time to think about water conservation in the summer months ahead,” Modi said. He also said there is a need to make science more popular across the country and asserted that science cannot be limited to physics-chemistry and labs. Modi called for expanding science with a mantra of ‘lab to land’. During the broadcast, the Prime Minister also rued not being able to make enough efforts to learn the world’s oldest language, Tamil. “In run up to Mann Ki Baat, I was asked if there was something I missed out on during these long years as Chief Minister and Prime Minister. I feel -- it is a regret of sorts that I could not make enough efforts to learn the world’s oldest language Tamil.

 

Tamil literature is beautiful,” Modi said. Kamraj Chaudhary, a progressive farmer from Gujarat’s Patan district who grows drumsticks using micro-irrigation and organic farming techniques, came in for praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday. Modi also mentioned about a woman tour guide at the Statue of Unity in Gujarat’s Narmada district who speaks fluent Sanskrit. The PM said farmer Chaudhary from Lukhasan village in Patan is an example of people who are expanding the scope of science by taking it forward “with the mantra of lab to land”. Later, talking to PTI over phone, Chaudhary said while cultivating drumsticks on his land, he follows sustainable farming practices, using organic fertilisers and ensuring that no bees are killed with the use of pesticides.

 

“I practice organic farming and the quality of our produce is much better than what you see in the market. We develop seeds on our own, as the seeds that we get from the market are of mixed quality,” he said. The cultivator said they save around 15 to 20 kg seeds for the purpose of cultivation and claimed the drumsticks grown by him fetch a higher price than the market value. PM also lauded a woman from Madhya Pradesh for reviving a dried lake near her village by channelising rain water into it.