Take proactive action for allotting water: Kalam tells tribunals

Alamatti, Karnataka, Aug 21 (UNI) President A P J Abdul Kalam today said river water tribunals should adopt proactive action by using scientific tools not only for allotting water to states during difficult times, but also organising water storage during flood conditions.

Speaking after dedicating the Upper Krishna Project to the nation here, he said such measures would make the task of the river water tribunals easier, especially in making allocations during the period of shortage of water.

He said ''There is a need for a national mechanism for periodic inspection and certification of safety of all major dams using renowned safety experts. This team should carry out a risk analysis and specify the repair and refurbishment required to make the dam fully safe,'' During any earthquake in the region of the dam sites or severe flood conditions, special inspection, maintenance and certification had to be carried out by the same team, he added.

Cautioning that Planet Earth would encounter severe shortage of water, he said the need of the hour was careful conservation and preservation of precious water resources. India should have action oriented plans to forsee this problem and work on a mission mode before the water situation worsened.

He said it was essential to have a water management mission that had a vision for next two decades, integrating state level waterways, interlinking of rivers, water harvesting, water re-cycling and desalination of sea water using solar energy in specific areas.

Mr Kalam said ''I am happy that the Upper Krishna Project has taken adequate care to see that the rehabilitation action has been carried out in time to the satisfaction of all the affected people.'' UNI SR/MNP RS-RG MIR PC2104