Jaipur, June 23 -- Two days after the Vande Ganga Jal Sanrakshan Abhiyan ended on June 20, chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma said in a statement released on Sunday that over 25 million people in Rajasthan participated in drive started on June 5 on the occasion of World Environment Day to build a co-operative effort to preserve the local water bodies in Rajasthan . According to the CM, "At least 2.53 crore people participated in this campaign- of which 1.32 crore are also women who organised more than 370,000 programmes under this campaign across the state to conserve the water bodies." "Along with more than 42,200 water sources, more than 73,900 offices, hospitals and schools have also been cleaned. In this campaign, about 18,900 completed works were inaugurated and about 5,900 new works were also started. The public also put their effort at more than 1 lakh 2 thousand places under water conservation activities." According to the statement, during the campaign, 13,600 gram sabhas, 6,800 prabhat pheris (morning rallies), 9,800 kalash yatras, and 6,000 different types of chaupals were also organised to spread awareness about water conservation. "Under this campaign, work was done under a special action plan towards water conservation and storage. Along with various departments, non-governmental organisations, industrial groups and philanthropists, a large number of common people participated in campaign." "Through collective efforts and mutual coordination, cleaning of rivers, streams, water sources, construction of water harvesting structures and renovation of traditional water reservoirs like step wells, ponds and wells was done on a large scale," he said. The CM started the campaign at the Ramgarh Dam in Jaipur on the occasion of World Environment Day and Ganga Dussehra and said, "Water is life, and it is the duty of every individual to protect nature. We are working with the goal of making Rajasthan self-reliant in the water sector." He noted that understanding Rajasthan's harsh geography and growing water needs, the government has taken continuous decisions over the past 18 months to boost water supply. Major projects such as the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP), the Yamuna Water Agreement, Indira Gandhi Canal, Dewas Project, Mahi Dam, and Som-Kamla-Amba are all contributing to water conservation and increasing availability across the state. He expressed concern over the declining availability of surface water in the state, leading to increased pressure on groundwater resources. Stressing the urgent need for sustainable water management, Sharma said traditional water sources must be preserved and cleaned, while new water structures should be developed to meet the state's growing water demand. "In this direction, we launched the 'Karmabhoomi Se Matribhumi' campaign in January this year. Through this initiative, water conservation structures are being constructed in every district with the help of Non-Resident Rajasthanis," he had said. He also flagged serious concerns over the state's growing dependence on groundwater, stating that around 72% of the region now falls under the over-exploited category due to limited surface water availability....