New Delhi, Apr 7 (UNI) Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today expressed hope that the national capital will be able to tide over the water crisis soon saying equitable distribution was the ultimate goal of her government.

Providing water to 1.5 crore people of the city was a priority as well as a challenge, she told children at the 'Jal Jaagrukta Award' ceremony this morning.

''There is water shortage everywhere and Delhi suffers from this malaise as well. We are trying to do our best to overcome this shortage,'' Ms Dikshit said.

Surely we are going to overcome it, she added.

''Our stress is on distributing water equally to all people in Delhi and for this we need the support and backing of children and citizens,''she said.

We will work towards this end and will solve the problem, she said.

Ms Dikshit later gave awards to 13 students and three teachers under the 'Jal Jaagrukta Abhiyaan', a school education programme initiated by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) with support from the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).

Calling children the 'agents of change' of future India, DJB CEO Arun Mathur said the objective of the programme was to educate and create awareness among children on water conservation and for this 'Jal Jaagrukta Clubs' will be opened in schools.

UNI AN AK KP1500