'Rally for Rivers' campaign reaches Rajasthan

Jaipur: Rajasthan comprises 10 per cent of the country's land area yet gets only one per cent of its water for use, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje today said, stressing that her government has been working over the last three years to revitalise the state's water bodies.

Speaking at a river conversation event here, Raje said in last two years the state government has contributed to the Mukhyamantri Jal Swavlamban Abhiyan (MJSA) to build 2.5 lakh structures to conserve water.

She said that her government will take up a Rs 40,000 crore river linking project - Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project - from next year to fulfil the water requirements of 13 districts of the state.

Spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, founder of Isha Foundation which launched the 'Rally for Rivers' campaign, said, "We are on the threshold of disaster and if we do not act on war-footing to revitalise our rivers now then it would take over a century to normalise the situation."

This is the first time states ruled by different parties have come together in support of the cause, Vasudev said.

The campaign had started from Coimbatore on September 3.

After covering 16 states and traversing more than 8,000 km, it will culminate in New Delhi on October 2.