Water Management Key To End Farmers’ Suicide In Vidarbha: Gadkari

Nagpur: Calling for a nationwide people's movement on water conservation, Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said Vidarbha could be made "farmer suicide-free" through scientific water management, irrigation expansion and community participation, while warning that climate change and poor groundwater planning are deepening India's rural distress.Addressing the Jalkranti Parishad-2026 here, organised as part of the silver jubilee celebrations of Purti Sinchan Samruddhi Kalyankari Sanstha, the Nagpur MP said water conservation must move beyond govt schemes and become a mass social movement led by villages themselves."Rainwater is the only real source of water. Save rainwater and it will save us," he said. "Village water must remain in the village. Not a single drop of water should go to waste. If every village undertakes water conservation seriously, Vidarbha can become suicide-free," Gadkari added.The two-day conference focused on irrigation, groundwater recharge, river rejuvenation and climate-resilient agriculture. Actor and Naam Foundation founder Nana Patekar and actor Makrand Anaspure attended the event, while actor Aamir Khan skipped the programme due to health reasons.Referring to the agrarian crisis in Vidarbha, Gadkari said more than 10,000 farmers died by suicide across the region over the years, particularly in districts such as Yavatmal in Western Vidarbha, where irrigation coverage remains low."Poverty can be removed through proper farming and assured water availability," he said, adding that water management had the potential to transform village economies, livestock activity and rural employment.The Union minister highlighted the ‘Tamaswada Pattern' — a water conservation model developed under the Purti Foundation initiatives — saying it has now received recognition from the Central Ground Water Board and water experts associated with NITI Aayog. The initiative has so far covered nearly 100 kilometres of streams and created around 26 lakh cubic metres of surface water storage capacity, benefiting thousands of farming families across Maharashtra.Gadkari said the foundation's work expanded to more than 1,100 villages in Maharashtra and several projects nationally, including river rejuvenation efforts, groundwater recharge systems and irrigation-linked watershed development. Gadkari also stressed the importance of understanding geological formations before undertaking water projects, warning that poor assessment of rock structures and terrain contributed to infrastructure failures and water mismanagement in several regions."Knowledge and technology are the biggest tools available to us," he said. "Climate conditions are changing rapidly. Floods and droughts are occurring together. We can change this situation only through long-term planning," he said. The minister cited several ongoing initiatives, including treated sewage water reuse in Nagpur, floating solar projects, ethanol-linked rural energy systems, and groundwater recharge projects along highways and rural roads.He urged MLAs, sarpanches and gram panchayat members to jointly lead water conservation campaigns through public participation rather than political affiliation. "This movement should not belong to any political party," Gadkari said.The conference was attended by Maharashtra ministers Sanjay Rathod, Ashish Jaiswal and Pankaj Bhoyar, MP Mayatai Iwnate, Nagpur mayor Neeta Thakre, PDKV vice-chancellor Sharad Gadakh, Gondwana University VC Prashant Bokare, MAFSU VC Niteen Patil and several MLAs, water conservation experts, farmers and public representatives.NUMBER1,100 Villages in Maharashtra have benefited from water projects executed on ‘Tamaswada Pattern' by Purti Sinchan Samruddhi Kalyankari Sanstha26 Lakh cubic metres of surface water storage capacity generated by Purti FOundation through the initiative