Mumbai, Jan 3: Bollywood super star Aamir Khan on Tuesday advocated water conservation and the need for rainwater harvesting. "We should not only make water coservation a habit in our daily lives but also work hard to harvest rainwater so that in later years we can deal with water shortage," he said at the launch of 'Satyamev Jayte Water Cup 2017' in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
 
Fadnavis stressed the need for creating awareness among the masses on water conservation and involving them for the success of the endeavour.He said creating awareness and training people to conserve water was important to ensure the western state remained drought-free.
 
Praising the initiative of 'Paani Foundation', an NGO founded by Aamir Khan and his wife Kiran Rao, the Chief Minister told the media: "Though there are various water conservation activities taken up by other non-governmental organisations, what makes the Satyamev Jayte Water Cup different is how they train the people. Unless we can create awareness among the common people about the cause and involve them, it will not happen."
 
Apart from the Chief Minister and Aamir, Minister for Water Conservation Ram Shinde, Minister of State for Water Conservation Vijay Shivtare, Jagannatha Kumar from Reliance Foundation, R. Venkat of Tata Trusts, Ajay Piramal and Ziaa Lalkaka of Parekh Foundation were present on the occasion.
 
Following the success of a pilot edition of the Satyamev Jayte Water Cup 2016 in three 'talukas' of Maharashtra, which helped create a storage capacity of 1,368 crore litres of water last year, the 2017 edition is expanding to 30 'talukas' of Maharashtra.
 
Fadnavis said the government's aim is to make water conservation a lifestyle choice. "Once the people's mind is trained and they understand, it is not for the government to work for their well-being; rather they will practice it for the rest of their lives."
 
The Satyamev Jayte Water Cup 2017 competition will take place between April 8 and May 22. Top three villages will get cash prizes of Rs 50 lakh, Rs 30 lakh and Rs 20 lakh respectively. In addition, top village from each 'taluka' will get cash of Rs 10 lakh.