India's total holding capacity 8 pct of rainfall received: Minister Jabalpur

Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Saturday said the rainwater holding capacity in the country is eight percent of total rainfall received. He was speaking at the inauguration of a gabion (rock and soil filled cylindrical cage) check dam on the Gaur river at Gaumukh, some 27 kilometers from here.

"The rainwater holding capacity in the country is eight percent of the total volume of received rainfall. This capacity can be increased by small innovative steps like constructing more such gabion check dams," he said. In the country, 65 percent water for drinking and agriculture purposes is currently drawn from groundwater sources, he said, adding that there was an urgent need to replenish these sources.

He acknowledged the efforts of BJP state chief and Jabalpur Lok Sabha MP Rakesh Singh and villagers who volunteered to construct the gabion check dam on river Gaur, a tributary of the Narmada. Gaur originates in neighboring Mandla and converges with the Narmada at Jamtara near here.