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UP Tackles Water Crisis: Innovative Approaches to Sustainability
8 Aug
Summary
- UP government's efforts to revive dying rivers and create thousands of ponds
- Importance of local community involvement in maintaining water resources
- Crop diversification and use of solar power to improve water management
As of August 2025, the Uttar Pradesh government is spearheading a comprehensive effort to ensure the state's water security and agricultural sustainability. According to the Secretary of the Irrigation and Water Resources Department, G.S. Naveen Kumar, while Uttar Pradesh is blessed with many rivers, preserving this vital resource requires a collective responsibility.
The state has already seen success in reviving dying rivers in Azamgarh and Varanasi, as well as creating thousands of ponds under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana. However, Kumar emphasizes that infrastructure alone is not enough – local communities must be educated, trained, and actively involved in maintaining these assets and preventing encroachment.
Ganesh, the CEO of Naam Foundation, highlights the importance of trust-building in villages, noting that when people contribute to projects, they feel more responsible for maintaining the resources. The organization has worked on initiatives like cleaning a 25-acre pond in Jalalpur, Derapur, where the community funded the project while the foundation provided the machinery.
To further improve water management, the state government is also modernizing the canal network through metering and a water accounting system, ensuring farmers receive only the water they need. Crop diversification projects in Banda and Bundelkhand, along with the use of solar power to lift and distribute water, are also underway.
