With a population that has crossed a billion and is the second largest populated country in the world, it is not surprising that the need for clean drinking water and renewable sources of water in India is currently at its maximum.
The constant stretch of poverty is being worked upon by the leaders but it is the water that no one is paying attention to. The water crisis in India is at its new height, with possibly 5 years left till we hit the dead end.
Even though the country’s drinking water facilities are being improved and tended to, statistics suggest that over 21% of the diseases in the country is water borne. While only 33% of the country’s population has access to clean and planned sanitation, it is not surprising why the rate of such diseases and the connected onslaught of problems with lack of water are on the rise.
The causes of water crisis in India are extensive – the lack of proper infrastructure, hampered climatic conditions and even the depleting levels of the ground water are posing as possible reasons.
We are at a position where the long term availability of the replenishable water sources in India can become a problem. It is time the citizens understand that the water crisis in India isn’t folklore or a myth but a tragic condition which can lead to a possible famine because of the impact it will have on the agriculture in the country.
The groundwater is affected at the most with the statistics looking something like the report published on Forbes India as below-
Even after being blessed with a wet climate, India is on the verge of losing its clean water supply in the coming years. Chennai is already struggling with the lack of water, the constant wars with the water tankers and barter system already at its peak owing to the water crisis of India.
It goes without saying that at this rate, India won’t have sufficient water to keep up and support the population that it currently has.
What is the Government doing then?
With so much of a riot happening around in India at the moment with half of India struggling with the depleted water levels and the Mumbai rains flooding the city, there is a constant struggle that the government is battling with.
On July 1st, 2019, the Central Government did launch its water conservation drive to meet the needs of this water crisis that is slowly turning into a catastrophe. This drive is expected to target over 250 districts which fall under the most water stressed districts in India.
The assigned teams are already working to collect the data and plan the mitigation strategy to help clear out the country from going downhill because of the lack of water in the coming years.
Parameswaran Iyer, secretary, drinking water and sanitation stated that the teams are going to make an assessment with collaboration of the local officials and then set a baseline that they can work ahead from.
Temporary impacts
Rainwater harvesting is yet another one of the important installments that the Delhi government is banging their heads for since 2001.
While the temporary mitigation steps are being looked upon by the officials like the ones where the air conditioning in the Metros in Chennai has been stopped and even the transportation of 10 million liters of water to the state from Jolarpet is on it course, it is the permanent solutions that need more focus.
Restoration of the water bodies
This is where the majority of reform subsidies in. Manoj Mishra, convener of the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan believes that it is time we focus on replenishing the water that we have in the existing dams, with special emphasis on the aquifers and the catchment. It is time that we let the river run free and that too with clean and unpolluted water.
The lack of preservation of both the aquifers and the catchment is what is contributing to the depletion of the groundwater levels in India.
Emphasizing the focus on the alarming situation, the Delhi Jal Board official suggested saying that the plan for the city’s lakes are ready and about to be implemented very recently to help with further conservation of the water and to imbibe better permanent solution to the depleting levels of ground water.
Everyone is seeking a long term change from the government and there is nothing wrong with such expectations at all. With the latest reports out, it is believed that the government is putting in the efforts to fight back the causes of water crisis in India.
What is it that YOU need to do?
If you are here sitting and waiting for the Government to do everything, chances are that you wouldn’t even realize when the end of the discourse hits you hard on the face.
Water crisis in India is going to wait for none. This is the time to take action instead of having blind reliance on the water crisis of India facts and thinking that it is completely the government’s responsibility to make the changes.
It is time that you take things in your hand and do the needful that you can from your end. No one is asking you to build a dam, it is always in the small steps that make the biggest impact.
If you are wondering what it is that you can do to induce better changes in the facet of water crisis of India, go through the following points.
- Avoid unnecessary usage of water
- If you find leaks in the pipeline, fix it NOW
- Avoid using buckets and buckets of water for washing cars, do manual labour and use a wet cloth instead
- RAINWATER HARVESTING
- Use the water you were about to dispose off for gardening purposes
- Stop keeping the tap open while you are brushing your teeth. Use a mug of water instead
- Try and keep the water usage to a bare minimum and only the amount that’s needed
- Stick to using buckets of water for bathing instead of showers
- Use your voice to promote the need for water conservation today
If you don’t want the worse to hit you hard and fast, opt for constructive ways of water conservation that would last you in the long run. Much like how this Chennai man, Dayanand Krishnan developed his very own rainwater harvesting system which has been proven to collect 225 liters of water in a mere 10 minutes.
It is time that you fight back the water crisis in India before it’s too late to even react.
Nice way to bring this matter in front of the world