P. A. Chacko
Water is life-saving elixir. No water, no life. Water is food and drink. Water is medicine. It is essential for sanitation and hygiene. But the world is running out of clean and usable groundwater.
The Indian situation is quite grave. Wells are getting dry. Streams and rivers have a sad story. Much of the ground water is getting polluted.
Reports point out that more than 330 million people in India are affected due to water scarcity. Half of the Indian population is said to grapple with a drought like situation.
Reasons are many. Climate change, inefficient and overuse of water, drilling too many tube wells in nearby areas, quarries and mines, inadequate infrastructure, departmental mismanagement, etc. are reported to be crucial factors.
Water pollution is becoming a menace. Factories vomit effluents into fields and rivers, mines and quarries cause neighbouring village wells to go dry. In addition, they cause environmental pollution and ecological disaster. Riverside bathing ghats, burning ghats, using rivers as recipients of all muck, shit, and drainage etc. cause man-made calamities.
Illegal felling of green cover and deforestation cause climatic changes and, thereby, affect rainfalls.
Caution should not be thrown to the winds. Efficient water management should be a part of the curriculum in schools. Create awareness in the general populace about the need for sensible use of water.
Government infrastructure should be geared up to deliver a beneficial water management system. Erring elements should be taken to task. Clean up the mess caused by polluting factors. Strike at the source!