Indian PM: Climate change may hit water

NEW DELHI, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said climate change may cause water shortages in the country.

“Water is life. Yet, humankind has not done enough to replenish, conserve and safeguard our sources of water supply,” he said. “On the contrary, given the threat of climate change and global warming, we face the real prospect of reduced supply of water.”

The comments, made at the National Water Congress-2007, were reported by the Indo-Asian News Agency.

“This threat is of particular concern to us in India since we have, since times immemorial, depended on glaciers for our water supply in this part of our subcontinent,” he said, according to IANS.

India’s breakneck economic growth requires a long-term supply of natural resources, including water. Singh called on village-level governments to take steps to address water scarcity.

“Any strategy for water conservation, management and utilization cannot be imposed on the country from here in New Delhi,” he said. “We need a community-based, region-specific strategy that is owned by the people who have to implement it.”