Country gets good rainfall, water management a challenge, says

India does not have scarcity of water but the challenge is to manage it well, Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said on Tuesday. He said the country's annual average rainfall is good when compared to several other countries, adding that headlines, which spoke of parched regions till 15 days ago, were now centred on floods.

"Our challenge is not that we have water scarcity, our challenge is of water management. And the challenge is faced by a country where water is revered as god," he said. He was speaking at the induction training programme for newly appointed Central Water Engineering Service officers at the National Water Academy.

"India's average rainfall is 1068 mm, which is very good compared to other countries. One month ago, there was only one news everywhere, and that was about the (adverse) water situation in Chennai. The main headline was that India is parched," he said. "In the last 15 days, the only news everywhere is that of floods. In the last 15 days, around two-thirds of the country faced floods," he added..