Gadkari: Drinking water from sea soon at 5 paise/litre
What's the story
Addressing the inaugural session of the Nadi Mahotsav at Bandrabhan, Madhya Pradesh, Union water resources minister Nitin Gadkari said that India would soon get potable water from the sea at 5 paise per litre.
The minister added that trials for conversion of sea water into potable water have started at Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu.
Here's what else he said about India's water crisis.
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Gadkari hints at stopping water supply to Pakistan
Noting that states fight over river water, but no one takes into account India's sharing of water with Pakistan, Gadkari said, "Water from three rivers is flowing into Pakistan. But neither does any newspaper write on it, nor does any MLA demand to stop it."
Conservation
Gadkari stresses the importance of science in conservation efforts
Calling water, forests, land, and animal as gifts from God, the minister said that India could go on a path of development only if these were preserved.
Gadkari added that a good number of river conservation works were already underway. He further suggested novel ways of utilizing water without wastage, emphasizing the need for adopting scientific methods to ensure conservation of water.
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The importance of converting 'waste to wealth'
"We must enhance our efforts to conserve nature including plantation to ensure availability of water. We also have to work to convert waste into wealth with the help of technology," said Gadkari while addressing the audience at the festival.
Details
Gadkari suggests ways of using treated sewage water
Citing the Nagpur Municipal Corporation's example of selling treated sewage water to thermal power plans, Gadkari said that the government was looking to take up similar activities.
He said his ministry was looking to sell treated sewage water to power plants and industries, as well as use it for cleaning railway coaches and extraction of carbon dioxide, methane, and bio-CNG.
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The Nagpur Municipal Corporation's success story
"Initially when I mooted the proposal [to sell treated sewage water to power plants] people laughed at me. But soon the [Nagpur municipal] corporation started getting Rs. 18 crore as revenue from the same project and it increased to Rs. 28 crore," added Gadkari.