Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Friday lauded citizens for wholeheartedly supporting the ongoing Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Yojana, saying their role in the drive would make water scarcity a thing of the past in Gujarat. The CM was speaking after reviewing water conservation works in Bagthala village of Morbi district. "Lakhs of citizens are sweating it out in this heat to increase water storage capacity. This sweat will help in making Gujarat free of water shortage," Rupani said. He said that when the water conservation drive was launched on May 1, the number of JCBs involved in de-silting work was 527, which had now gone up to 4,500, number of tractor-dumpers from 2,000 to over 14,000, and different organisations involved from 525 to 2,600. "From 27,000, the number of workers engaged in water conservation related works has gone up to 3.25 lakh," he said. Rupani reiterated that in view of the popular support, the state government had decided to continue the water conservation drive for three years. He also spoke about plans to set up a series of desalination plants along the state's coast to resolve water woes. Under the month-long campaign, the state government is targeting to increase water storage capacity in water bodies by 11 lakh sq ft.

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