World Water Day was celebrated on 22 March 2026 under the theme “Water and Gender Equality” at ICAR-CRIDA Hyderabad in collaboration with Watershed Organisation (WOTR) and Indian Society of Dryland Agriculture (ISDA) and Indian society of Agricultural Engineers(ISAE-Telangana Chapter).

World Water Day is observed every year on March 22 to highlight the importance of freshwater and promote the sustainable management of water resources for various purposes.This year World Water Day was celebrated under the theme “Water and Gender Equality,which highlishts the strong connection between water access and gender equality. Around the world when safe water, sanitation and hygiene are not easily available, women and girls face the greatest challenge.

It is essential to place women and girls at the center of water solutions not only as users of water services . So 2026 is celebrating world water day under the theme where water flows ,equality grows’

Sri. M. Kodanda Reddy, Chairman, Telangana Agriculture Farmers Welfare Commission is the chief guest of the programme.

Dr. Arun Tiwari, Retired Scientist, DRDO is the guest of honour.

On the occasion of World Water Day, a Farmers’ Rally was organized at ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad, to create awareness about the importance of water conservation and efficient water management in agriculture. The rally witnessed active participation from farmers, women farmers, scientists, staff, and students.

In the beginning of the programme Dr.KV.Rao, Head (DRM) welcomed the guests and explained about importance of world water day

Shri.Eswar kale, Research Head, WOTR briefed how they worked in the villages for water saving using different water saving technologies . He also explained about water budgeting which helped the farmers in the village’s in getting better benefits.

Director VK.Singh briefed about world water day and explained the technologies developed by CRIDA like form ponds usages in saving the water and better utilization of water. He suggested to use solar energy and micro irrigation technologies to minimize the waste of water and to use efficiency methods to utilize the water efficiently.

Dr.SS.Vittala,Sotheren Region CGWP briefed about importance of resource mapping to improve ground water and briefed about the work done in different parts of the country .He also briefed about recharging techniques to improve the ground water .

Dr.Arun Tiwari Retired scientist DRDO suggested to focus on strengthening Watershed development and Climate-Resilient water management practices.

Sri. M. Kodanda Reddy, Chairman, Telangana Agriculture Farmers Welfare Commission is the chief guest of the programme. He particularly acknowledged the role ICAR-CRIDA in disseminating location-specific technologies, weather-based advisories, and resource conservation practices that have empowered farmers to make informed decisions.

He appreciated the concept FPO which is benefiting to the farmers. He appreciated the efforts of farmers in successfully coping with extreme weather events and achieving commendable crop yields.

He highlighted that judicious use of water resources is essential for sustaining agricultural productivity under dryland conditions. Sri Kodanda Reddy further underscored the significant role of women farmers in ensuring water use efficiency at the farm level.

As part of the celebrations of World Water Day, prizes were distributed to recognize outstanding contributions in water conservation and sustainable agricultural practices. Awards were presented to the best performing villages and progressive farmers who have demonstrated exemplary efforts in efficient water utilization and climate-resilient farming. The prizes also given to the students participated in different completions to create awareness on water utilization efficiently.

Total 300 farmers are participated in the program.