Panaji, May 29 (IANS): Malnutrition and pollution of water resources are a problem which the state government needs to address at the earliest, Goa Governor Mridula Sinha said in her address to the state ahead of Statehood Day.

Sinha, appointed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an ambassador for the Swachh Bharat Mission, also said systematic disposal of garbage was an issue which the state government needed to look into.

"If we have to ensure health of the people, we have to first ensure that our people are able to get quality food. Malnutrition is still a major problem, which affects the health and progress of our people.

"It is also important that the environment in which they live is clean and healthy. We must devote more time and attention to achieve these ends," she said, adding that health and education needs to be tackled on a priority basis.

Sinha also called for rapid efforts to protect the state's water resources.

"We often come across news about our water bodies being polluted. This should be avoided at all costs. There should be an all-out and continuous effort for conservation of the natural resources, without which life cannot sustain," she said.

Sinha also said that the state needs to find a way to resolve its garbage disposal mechanism, hinting that the issue was mounting and not in sync with the Swachh Bharat Mission.

"Also we must have, as early as possible, sufficient technological set-up to scientifically treat the increasing amount of garbage. It has been brought to my notice that one of the major problems faced in the garbage management is that people do not segregate it systematically at source," she said.