PushpaGujral Science City celebrated World Water Day by organizing a webinar today.Around 175 students from all over Punjab participated in the program through zoomplatform and youtube channel.
DrNeelima Jerath, Director General, Science City giving introductory remarksstressed on the need to implement strategies that have demonstrated success inconservation and purification of water. She said that if current trend of usingwater in manner continues, about 60 percent of all aquifers in India will be ina critical condition in the next 10-15 years.
“Thereis a dire need for taking effective measures to address the critical threat ofground water overexploitation. Further, we must save and keep natural waterresources if we really want our children to lead a healthy and prosperous life”,she emphasized.
Dr.Satnam Singh Ladhar, Former Director, Punjab State Council for Science andTechnology, Chandigarh was the key speaker at this occasion. Delivering his talk, he said that rapidpopulation increase has resulted in increase in water demand to meet thedomestic, agricultural, industrial and power generation requirements. With thegrowing need of water for various purposes, water is becoming a scarce naturalresource.
Further,increasing water pollution due to rapid urbanization, large scale industrializationand use of fertilizers and pesticides for increased agricultural production iscausing deterioration of water quality in both surface and groundwater andaffecting the net availability of fresh water for consumptive uses.
Thenumber of tube wells in Punjab have increased from 1, 92,000 existing in the year1970 to more than 15 lakhs. This has resulted in the depletion of ground waterlevels @ 23-50 cm per year, he added
DeliveringVote of Thanks, Dr. Rajesh Grover, Director, Science City said that lack ofconservation and misuse of water is putting a great strain on the supply offreshwater. He appealed to the students to value water and also participates inactivities that help to protect and restore local streams, rivers, lakes &wetlands.