New Delhi, March 20 (IANS): Youth must be mobilised to to find sustainable solutions to water crises in India, environmental think-tank TERI said in a function on Friday in an event of thhe eve of World Water Day.

The "SWASH (Save Water and Save Humanity) event, seeking to ensure quality, availability and accessibility of water and sanitation for all, is aimed at promoting entrepreneurial and creative spirit among young minds to exploring innovative solutions for issues related to water and sanitation, said a TERI statement.

"Learning to value water and conserve both its quality and quantity has to become a national movement in India," said TERI's acting director general Leena Srivastava.

The power of the youth must be mobilised towards this end, she added.

The event was organised by the TERI university in association with USAID and TU's Coca Cola Department of Regional Water Studies.

Speaking on the occasion, USAID deputy mission director Kathryn Stevens impressed on the need for water and sanitation infrastructure to meet the rapidly growing demand of urban India.

"The issue is important as more and more people are dying due to water and sanitation related diseases such as diarrhoea and malaria. We need to meet the challenge by working towards behavioural changes to attain a sustained change," she said.