Wars of the future will be fought over the issue of water – this warning is in the air for quite some time. With major change in weather patterns and Monsoon spread of rains, India is currently staring at a serious water crisis. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave vent to the fears for the future when he spoke of this at his revived Mann Ki Baath this Sunday, and stressed that the efforts of the Jal Shakti ministry should be complemented with valued support from the citizenry. India is sounding alarm bells about the worsening scenario, evident also in the century’s worst situation in Chennai and the mega city of Bengaluru contemplating a five-year halt to apartment construction in view of the terrible water shortage. Some 50 per cent of India is now staring at drought. The North-Eastern states are also increasingly facing water scarcity.
The Prime Minister’s stress is rightly on conserving water – rather than allowing rain water to mostly return to the seas through our river systems. He has noted that only 8 per cent of the water received from rain is harvested and the rest goes largely waste apart from providing instant help to farming activities. Several villages are digging rainwater pits, as in Andhra Pradesh, to conserve water and this has helped promote agricultural activities on a long-term basis. The Centre’s rural employment guarantee scheme includes such initiatives though there is the scope for widening such efforts.
There was below average rainfall in the last monsoon season. This time too, midway through the season, deficient rainfall is reported from several regions. Indian agriculture is dependent heavily on monsoon rains and notably agriculture contributes some 18 per cent of the nation’s GDP and 58 per cent of the employment opportunities. All these depend on the availability of water.
Even drinking water sources are drying up and the levels of ponds and lakes steadily coming down, year after year. Delhi-NRC region is stressed due to water scarcity. States like Rajasthan, parts of which are deserts, have undertaken intense tree-plantation drives as also improvements in upkeep of water bodies, bore-well recharge and widening of water catchment areas under the Jal Shakti schemes. Other states too would need to take more active involvement in such efforts.
With a steady growth in population, India’s water demand is set to double in another 10 years, as a NITI Ayog study reported recently. The PM’s call for mass participation in water conservation must be taken by one and all with all its seriousness.