Why is World Water Day celebrated?

World Water Day is observed on March 22 every year to educate the importance of water to the whole world.

The Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis. Also, the core focus is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal number 6 which is aimed at achieving water and sanitation by all for 2030.

According to the UN, global water demand is likely to rise by over 50 percent by 2040.

The resolution to observe World Water Day was first adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 22, 1992, after which March 22 was declared as World Water Day and is celebrated around the world since 1993.

The theme of World Water Day 2021 is “Valuing Water”. UN-Water said on its website, “The value of water is about much more than its price – water has enormous and complex value for our households, food, culture, health, education, economics and the integrity of our natural environment. If we overlook any of these values, we risk mismanaging this finite, irreplaceable resource.”

In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually launched ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan : Catch the Rain’ campaign in which a memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed between the Jal Shakti ministry and the government of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh for starting the Ken-Betwa Link project.

The Ken-Betwa Link is the first river-linking project in India which is aimed at carrying water from surplus areas to those that are water-scarce by interlinking rivers