To mark the occasion of World Water Day 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” campaign on Monday. The Prime Minister will launch the campaign at 12:30 pm through video conferencing.
The historic MoU to implement the Ken Betwa Link Project, the first project of the national perspective plan for interlinking of rivers, will also be signed by Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh chief ministers at the event. This the first project which involves transfer of water from Ken to the Betwa River through the construction of Daudhan Dam and a canal linking the two rivers. It will provide annual irrigation of 10.62 lakh hectare, drinking water supply to about 62 lakh people and also generate 103 MegaWatt of hydropower. The PMO said in a statement that the campaign will be undertaken across the country in both rural and urban areas with the theme “catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls”. It will be implemented from March 22 to November 30 – the pre-monsoon and monsoon period in the country. It will be launched as a “Jan Andolan” (public movement) to take water conservation at the grassroot level through people’s participation.
It is intended to nudge all stakeholders to create rainwater harvesting structures suitable to climatic conditions and subsoil strata, to ensure proper storage of rainwater. After the event, gram sabhas will be held in all gram panchayats of each district to discuss issues related to water and water conservation and will also take “Jal Shapath” for water conservation.
