Article | If We Save The Water, The Water Save Us | Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh | Central Chronicle
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Article | If We Save The Water, The Water Save Us
- Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh
Writer, Author & Social Activist
Blogger - "Climate Diary Of Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh"
In the 19th program of 'Mann Ki Baat', Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given his views on the crisis of drought and said that collective efforts are needed to deal with the water crisis. Of course, everything is possible with collective efforts, but when the rivers are drying up and the ponds appear to be discolored with hyacinth or moss, then it starts proving that we neither remembered our Prime Minister's mind nor did we maintain our will kept. This much should be understood that the mere show of water conservation will not save water.
The scariest truth of the future, if there is one today, is the lack of water. Long queues and people fighting for water can be seen near water bodies with sagging water levels in urban areas. In rural areas the scenes are more frightening. There, living water is available by making pits in mud and sand and risking lives by descending into deep trenches. The sad thing is that we have forgotten about the mutual relation of water and drought, about which we have been reading, hearing and understanding since our childhood. If there is no water then there will be drought and if there is drought then the question of availability of water does not arise. The situation is appalling. Meteorologists are predicting that the upcoming monsoon will be very good and there will be good rains, but if we do not pay attention to water management in time, then we will not be able to take advantage of good rains. In the 19th program of 'Mann Ki Baat', Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given his views on the crisis of drought and said that collective efforts are needed to deal with the water crisis.
Today not only India, many third world countries are suffering from the pain of drought and water crisis. Even today, in many villages of many developing countries including India, pure potable water is not available. With economic growth, industrialization and population explosion, pollution of water and increasing water consumption, everything has gone awry. Due to environmental damage and negligence towards water management, many states of the country like Maharashtra, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh have to go through the tragedy of water crisis every year. Due to lack of proper water management, we are not able to save the rain water in such a way that it does not allow water shortage during the summer days. Due to lack of proper maintenance of hand pumps, wells and step-wells, they become useless by the time of summer.
Our ancestors left many sources of water for us in the form of wells, step-wells and ponds, but we turned out to be so careless that we are not able to save them properly. Thousands of wells, ponds and step-wells across the country have dried up only because of our carelessness. Even today there are many such wells which are dying after mole-till-mole. Their water has become polluted. We can remove the pollution of that water and make it useful instead as if we wait when that well dies and build a residential building or shopping complex on that land. It is a pity that we are not even thinking about how much and how many water sources will be left for our future generations. I am reminded of the story of King Midas in this situation today. The Greek king Midas was so hungry for wealth that he asked the gods for a boon that whatever he touched would turn into gold. Midas was overjoyed to receive the boon. His palace, his bed, all his belongings turned to gold as soon as he touched it. But soon he had to face problems because even his food and water turned into gold as soon as he touched it. Even when she prayed to her daughter, she too turned into a golden doll. Then he realized his mistake and started crying and apologizing to the gods.
In fictional stories, the gods forgive by being happy, but if we keep playing with the environment by drying up water sources, then we will not be able to forgive ourselves. After all, water is essential for every living being. No animal can survive for long without water. Now even the possibility is being expressed that if the Third World War happens, it will be for water only. Actually, water is the basic need of any living being. The amount of water that is conserved inside the earth should be drained accordingly. At present, less water is being stored inside the ground and more is getting discharged through various means. Just as the water level decreases when the water is removed from the tank, similarly the groundwater level is also going down due to over-exploitation.
There is no fault in our geographical location in terms of water availability, but how long will our geographical location be able to bear the imbalance in the ratio of availability and water use? We have to understand the groundwater level present in the country. Hard rocks cover 65% of the entire aquifer area of India. Most of these are in central peninsular India where the land is made up of hard rocks. These rocks create such a complex and low storage aquifer system on the surface that once the water level drops by more than 2-6 meters, then the water level starts falling rapidly. Apart from this, the vulnerability of these aquifers is very low, due to which they do not refill quickly even when it rains. This means that the water in these aquifers is not refillable and may eventually dry up due to continued use.
If the exploitation of water continues in the same way as compared to water storage and proper water management is not adopted in time, then the ground water reserves will be lost in 2.3 decades. Yes, this situation can be managed only by proper groundwater management. This management can be done at household, agricultural, industrial and community level. By making rain water harvesting structures in the domestic area, proper use of drinking water and use of discharged water in other works, drop-drop irrigation in agriculture, crops grown in less water and using fertilizers and pesticides in proper quantity, water in industries. This serious threat can be avoided by recycling and building groundwater recharge structures and rejuvenating ancient sources of water conservation at the community level. Along with this, some necessary steps also have to be taken. For example, water education should be included in the school curriculum as a compulsory subject, water conservation and conservation work should be linked with social and religious rites, it should be ensured that groundwater exploitation does not happen in an uncontrolled and unbalanced manner, ponds and other water resources But there should be a collective right of the society, every effort should be made to save water sources from pollution and rain water should be stored by making check dams on rivers and streams. Along with all this, for public protection and promotion, public awareness campaign should be run as a citizen campaign, in which every citizen should participate at some level. With this, the citizens will realize their responsibilities towards public protection and they will be able to understand the reality of the horrific water crisis in the future.
Today both the urban areas and the rural areas are facing the scarcity of water sources. Those who are financially capable get water from tankers. Even more powerful quench thirst with mineral water bottles. This is not a permanent option. As long as there is water in the water bodies, there are tankers and bottles of mineral water. Along with this, it is also necessary to understand the suffering of those people who have to wait in long queues for hours for a pitcher or a bucket of water or who have to travel miles for water. Only effective water management can save us from future water crises. So, a strong public campaign is necessary to bring awareness about water management and conservation.
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(17.04.2022)
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#water #savethewater
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