MP: Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat holds detailed discussion on water conservation, management

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], January 6 : Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Friday said that a detailed discussion about water conservation and its management was held in the two-day conference of state ministers organised in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal.
The conference began at Kushabhau Thackeray International Convention Center (Minto Hall) in the state capital Bhopal on Thursday.
Union Minister Shekhawat on Friday told media persons, "The conference was organised with the aim that water should not become a hindrance in becoming a developed India in 2047. We should start working on it from today. The enthusiasm with which the states participated in the conference, it can be said that we work as a team."
"A detailed discussion on ensuring availability of water, conserving rainwater, judicious use of conserved water, recycling of used water, using technology to manage water, to make India water-rich and to safe water in the conference. We have also learned from each other. Surely the churning that has come out of this 2-day conference will definitely give a new direction and speed to the planners and the executors," he added.
The union minister also reacted to the remark of Punjab's minister about the dirty water of rivers coming from Pakistan. He said, "I don't think that the rivers arriving from the neighbouring country are a challenge for us. The way we get water from the rivers arriving from Nepal side, from China side and from Tibet side, it is a boon for us."
"The river that the minister had mentioned is Satluj river. I must say that the polluted water of Satluj affects Haryana, Punjab as well as Rajasthan. But the reason for the pollution of its water is not only Pakistan, the water that comes from the Budha drain in Ludhiana, water from Ludhiana City, from dairy, form industries, and from the Lacto plate industries released into the river, all together are a big cause of pollution," he added.
"The Government of India has approved a scheme of Rs 700 crore to the Punjab Government to make it (Satluj River) pollution free. The kind of work required is not being executed, the speed is slow. This was not a political platform so I didn't want to say but Punjab should focus on that," the union minister added.