KOLLAM: Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran has said that given the increasing water scarcity, water auditing has become inevitable.

He was inaugurating a seminar on `Water and life' organised here on Sunday by the Energy Conservation Society (ECS).

Mr. Premachandran said though the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) purified and distributed 1,300 million litres of drinking water, more than 20 per cent of it went waste. The water table in 54 taluks of the State was going down at an alarming rate.

He said the preliminary work for a water resources policy in the State had begun. The State planned to launch a major awareness campaign on water conservation. The campaign will concentrate on educational institutions, he said.

V.M. Abdul Hakkim, professor, Thavanoor Agricultural College, said though the State got rainfall that was more than double the national average, it faced severe drinking water shortage. He said even if 48 per cent of the rainfall in the State was harvested and conserved, it could fully meet the domestic water needs of the people.

Kerala Land Development Corporation managing director P. Rajendran said overcoming wastage of water meant saving water. He said only by reviving ponds, wells, streams and other such sources would the State be able to augment its water conservation capacity.

ECS president S. Ratnakumar presided.

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