Water Issues in India
Introduction
Global
problems are not just important problems, or problems that affect many people.
Rather they are those problems that affect the whole of the planet, and
potentially all of the people who live on it. Albeit in different ways
according to region, affect everyone on the planet. In other words, the
consequences are universal. Moreover, unless we profoundly change our
collective behavior, May lead to the occurrence of negative things in our life
– a measure of the deep vulnerability of human society in the face of this
issue. And it is easy to see that there will be no easy solution to the
problem: the causes of the present situation are clearly related to our
economic system, our attitudes to nature, our political organization, our
technological capacities and preferences, and our uses of resources. Solutions
will involve not just all communities and every country, but solutions will
necessarily involve cooperation between all, rather than individual approaches.
Manifestations
1.
There are several principal
manifestations of the water crisis.
2.
Inadequate access to safe drinking water
for about 884 million people.
3.
Inadequate access to water for
sanitation and waste disposal for 2.5 billion people.
4.
Groundwater over drafting (excessive
use) leading to diminished agricultural yields.
5.
Overuse and pollution of water resources
harming biodiversity.
6.
Regional conflicts over scarce water
resources sometimes resulting in warfare.
Vision for the future
Construction of
wastewater treatment plants and reduction of groundwater over drafting appear
to be obvious solutions to the worldwide problem; however, a deeper look
reveals more fundamental issues in play. Wastewater treatment is highly capital
intensive, restricting access to this technology in some regions; furthermore
the rapid increase in population of many countries makes this a race that is
difficult to win. As if those factors are not daunting enough, one must
consider the enormous costs and skill sets involved to maintain wastewater
treatment plants even if they are successfully developed.
Reduction in
groundwater over drafting is usually politically very unpopular and has major
economic impacts to farmers; moreover, this strategy will necessarily reduce
crop output, which is something the world can ill-afford, given the population
level at present.
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In the list of 196
countries, India ranks at 120 though India has 4% of the world’s water, studies
show average availability is shrinking. It is estimated that by 2020, India
will become a water-stressed nation. Nearly 50% of villages still don’t have
any source of protected drinking water.
According to the 2001
census 68% households have access to safe drinking water .The department of
drinking water supply estimates that 94% of rural habitations and 91% urban
households have access to drinking water but according to experts these figures
are misinterpreted simply because it refers to installed capacity and not
actual supply.
The reality is that of
the 1.42 million villages in India 1, 95,813 are affected by chemical
contamination of water. The quality of ground water which accounts of more than
85% of domestic supply is a major problem in many areas as none of the rivers
have water fit to drink.
37.7 million People over
75% of whom are children are affected by waterborne diseases every year. Nearly
66 million people in 20 cities are at risk because of the excessive fluoride in
water. While the permitted limit of fluoride in water is 1 mg per liter in
states like Haryana it is as high as 48 mg in some places. Delhi water too has
32 mg, but the worst hits are Rajasthan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. Nearly 6
million children below 14 suffer from dental, skeletal and non-skeletal
fluorosis.
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Suggested
Solutions
The government of India
engages in educating the public on the importance of water conservation as a
measure to curb water shortage through avoiding running taps and the importance
of fetching water rather than using running water continuously (Pelusey & Pelusey,
2006). For example, washing utensils using tap water is wasteful as opposed to
washing using a basin.
The water shortage
menace is also solvable through ensuring that worn out water system are always
maintained and kept in proper working conditions, hence avoiding leakages and
easy evaporation of collected water (Loucks, 2005). Such measures can help save
water, such that, in case of shortages, enough reserves are available to
sustain the country. Building water reservoirs at both household and community
levels is also significant in collecting water from rain and rivers for future
use. Collected water should be used to drip irrigation rather than clean tap
water.
In conclusion, the
government can engage more resources in the development of water catchment
areas such as forest through afforestation, since this minimizes the likelihood
of rivers getting dry, thus ensuring continuous water availability. Water
shortage is a manageable global problem, but it calls for collective effort
from all stakeholders in the society.
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