Use water judiciously as there is threat to natural resources: Bansal

Highlighting the issues related to the present day water crisis and the need to make judicious use of water resources, Pawan Kumar Bansal, Union minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources, today addressed a gathering on the third day of the Peace Fest organised at the GGD SD College in Sector 32.

Over 300 delegates from around 35 countries, who have gathered for the six day fest, participated in the discussion.

Bansal said, "There is an ever increasing threat to natural resources, especially water, that are fast depleting. Growing population, fast-paced industrialization and expanding agriculture have pushed upon the demand for water. Hence, we must judiciously use every single drop of water."

A manual on Peace Trainer's Training programme developed by the Commonwealth Youth Asia Centre, Chandigarh was also released by the minister.

The festival in its seventh year has witnessed a significant increase in the number of participating nations. "The fest started with only two nations and this year, over 35 countries have sent their representatives to participate and exchange ideas on this platform," Bansal added.

Speaking to Newsline, Malte, an Environmental Sciences student from Germany said, "This is a unique platform for getting to know the traditions, cultures and thinking processes of other nations. The interactions were an eye-opener for me as I realised that the ground reality is very different from what we are shown on the television."

For Omid Mashood from Afghanistan, the fest presented an opportunity to be able to interact with representatives from other countries, something which he says is not very common in his country.

In addition to delegates from foreign countries, students and teachers from various schools across the country were also present at the event, which will culminate on October 2.

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