Gadkari appeals Qutubgarh villagers to save water, air quality

Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Nitin Gadkari, recently, said that time has come when people should turn the waste into wealth by conserving it properly.

Jubilance was reflecting on the faces of the villagers belonging to this sleepy hamlet on the outskirts of Delhi – when the MSME Minister, after kicking off the Sanitiation and Water Conservation Drive of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) here, said that eradicating the demons of poverty, hunger and unemployment will remain a mirage, unless we empower the villages – economically, socially and ecologically.

Stressing on the need of proper water management system, he said: "Our country does not have the dearth of water, but we are lagging in managing the water. I request you all to learn that art. Force the running water to walk, walking water to slow down and permit the stopped water to go into the earth," he said.

Appealing the villagers to divert the agricultural yields into power and plastic sector, Gadkari said that by selling toilet waste water to power generating companies, the Maharashtra Government had so far earned over Rs 2 crore. Applauding KVIC's efforts on 'Honey Mission' Programme, he also appealed the villagers to give up using chemical fertilisers in their fields. "It will be an add-on to both farming and bee-keeping," he added.

Minister of State for MSME Pratap Chandra Sarangi also appreciated the innovative efforts taken up by the KVIC in the recent past. "Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the true conscience-keeper of Gandhian philosophy of self-discipline and self-reliance. That is why, what Khadi has done in last five years is much more than its achievement in 60-odd years before Modiji," he said.

Earlier, KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena welcomed the dignitaries and appraised them about different Khadi activities. He also said that in the current fiscal, all the State Offices of KVIC had been asked to adopt one village in their respective areas, where sanitation and water conservation drive could turn it into the model ones. The KVIC has adopted Qutubgarh under its Swachchhata Abhiyaan and besides maintaining the cleanliness of this village, the KVIC officials would also take care of the progress of deepening of ponds work there. Last year, the KVIC adopted Jagatpur village of Eastern Delhi and cleanliness drive is still in operation there.

New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi, her Shimla counterpart Suresh Kashyap and MSME secretary A K Panda were also present on this occasion.