Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched the ‘Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari Initiative’ and highlighted that India has only four per cent of freshwater resources in the world and needs to people adopt the mantra of ‘reduce, reuse, recharge and recycle’ to conserve it.

He also asserted that conserving water and protecting the environment is deeply rooted in India’s cultural consciousness, as water is revered as sacred and rivers are worshipped as goddesses.

While virtually speaking at the launch of the ‘Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari’ initiative in Gujarat’s Surat, the PM stressed the initiative’s goal of strengthening community involvement in water conservation.

“For water conservation, we should work on the mantra of ‘reduce, reuse, recharge and recycle’. We also need to adopt innovative techniques and the latest technology to conserve water,” he said, PTI reported.

Modi said that 80 per cent of India’s water is used for irrigation, and sustainable agricultural techniques, such as drip irrigation should be promoted

“Conservation of water and environment is not new for us. It has been a part of India’s cultural consciousness. In our culture, water is considered god and rivers are revered as goddesses. Narmada, Ganga, Godavari and Kaveri are our mothers. Our ancestors also knew the importance of conservation of water,” he said.

Modi highlighted that India has only four per cent of the world’s freshwater resources and that many regions are experiencing a severe water crisis. He also pointed out that in the last few days, various parts of India, including Gujarat, have seen rain fury, which he called unprecedented.

Over 200 people lost their lives and 78 are still missing due to the landslides that hit Kerala’s Wayanad district on July 30. Additionally, torrential rains in Gujarat during the last week of August resulted in 49 fatalities.

While recalling his days as the chief minister of Gujarat, Modi said his past experiences in his home state gave him the confidence to solve the water crisis in the country.

“But, we saw results only during the last 10 years because my government worked on the ‘whole of society – whole of government’ approach,” said Modi, PTI reported.