Protect water as a treasure - Prime Minister

Priyanka KURUGALA

The participation of schoolchildren is very important in the Commemoration Ceremony of the World Water Day National Program. The child community of today is the country's elderly population tomorrow. Therefore, it is necessary to make them aware to live with nature, Prime Minister D M Jayaratna said.

Prime Minister D M Jayaratna

The Prime Minister was addressing the National Commemoration Ceremony of the World Water Day at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall yesterday.

The PM said, "our ancestors used to protect water as a treasure. They considered water as god. They made reservoirs on the top of mountains. Nobody was allowed to approach these reservoirs. They protected water.

Therefore people who were living at the foot of the mountain had very clean water".

"Today the world has changed. Science has advanced. However on the other hand the world is facing the threat of degeneration. Under this situation the world faces many problems," the PM said.

"Water is a treasure for all animals in the world. Therefore the public, should take steps to conserve water resources without any urging of the Government," he said

Addressing the Ceremony Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardana said the present Government had taken steps to provide clean drinking water to every citizen in the country.

There are a number of rural water supply projects which have been implemented under the Water Supply and Drainage Ministry.

"Sri Lanka is a country with minimum urbanization in Asia. According to the Mahinda Chinthana the Government has planned to provide all urban facilities to rural areas.

Nevertheless it has estimated that in 2050 the urban population will increase up to 70 percent of the world population.

"Purified water is being used for everything. Some of these activities are unnecessary. It is a major problem of the country" he said.

"We should take action to reduce such practices," he said.

"The right time has come to adhere to the theme of World Water Day, "Water and Urbanization". It is better to understand that the day when water becomes a scarce commodity will soon be upon us," he said.

Water Supply and Drainage Deputy Minister Nirupama Rajapaksa, Senior Minister A H M Fowzie, Deputy Finance Minister Geethanjana Gunawardana, National Water Supply and Drainage Board Chairman Karunasena Hettiarachchi, Vice Chairman Gamini Gunaratna, and UNICEF Sri Lanka Permanent Representative Desiree Jongsma also participated at the event.