Surplus states should readily share water: Experts

A view of overflowing Himayat Sagar Dam built on Esi a tributary of Musi River near Hyderabad in Telangana(File Photo: IANS)

New Delhi – Surplus states should share water with deficient states, experts and parliamentarians has said at a workshop here organized under the aegis of Lok Sabha secretariat.

It was also felt that apprehensions among donor states about the “negative impact” on their power and irrigation projects in the event they share water need to be overcome as inclusive growth of surrounding regions too is crucial, a statement from the Lok Sabha secretariat said.

The two-day workshop, which concluded on Thursday, was organised under the auspices of a research initiative of Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, it said.

During deliberations it also noted that the “inter-linking of rivers” was critical for water security, food security, energy security and national security.

Experts like S. Masood Hussain, director general of the National Water Development Agency, Sopan Joshi from Gandhi Peace Foundation and Farhad Contractor of NGO ‘Sambhaav’ were among those who shared their varied experiences and interacted with the members of the parliament.

On the role of community in water management, there was general agreement that there is need for wide-spread consciousness among the people to harvest water.

Efforts should also be made to revive old structures like baolis (stepwells), talabs (ponds) and other water conservation mechanisms existing across the country, the release said.

“During the two-day deliberations, members of the parliament and experts from concerned fields discussed at length on matters related to drought and agrarian issues, drinking water management and interlinking of rivers for water management. It has been a very good and fruitful initiative from our speaker,” Bharatiya Janata Party MP Jagdambika Pal told IANS.