Dr. Maninder Mohan, Dr. Veer Singh
The days of trouble due to water crisis are about to come. Such signs are also beginning to appear and experts are warning that many big cities of the world will be facing water crisis in the near future. Water crisis does not come in a single form, it brings with it many social tensions. Some sages have even started predicting that the third world war will be on water. Time will tell. Now the seasons also go hand in hand with the water cycle. One season brings with it a severe crisis of progressive water scarcity, and the next brings with it an acute crisis of the lethal power of water with great floods and landslides. This double whammy of water crisis is not a game of nature but of human.
Water is required for life on earth throughout life. Due to lack of water, species and civilizations get affected and perish. The root of the crisis of civilization lies in the water crisis itself. The universal truth is that water is the essence of life, without which it is meaningless to imagine life. In such a situation, considering the importance of water, we have to take the responsibility of ensuring its conservation, protection, management and quality. Lack of concrete national policy and strategy for water conservation, water management and ensuring water quality is the major reason for water crisis. Conservation, protection, management and better quality of water on earth is a sensitive issue, which requires serious brainstorming and implementation. There is enough water in one form or the other for life on earth.
But unfortunately the main problem is the declining quality of water and the increasing demand. Analyzes show that 80 percent of surface water is polluted, mainly due to human intervention. According to published data, India’s per capita water availability continues to decline, leading to rapid rise in social tensions over water in villages and cities.
The matter has started reaching to such a point that due to not getting enough water, now the public has to approach the court, while it is included in their fundamental rights. Published figures show that the per capita water availability in the country was 1,816 cubic meters in the year 2001, which has come down to 1,545 cubic meters after a decade i.e. 2011 and 1,486 cubic meters in 2021. And by the coming year 2031, it is expected to reduce to about 1,367 cubic meters.
Studies also suggest that due to increase in population, the per capita availability of water will decrease to 1,282 and 1,228 cubic meters by 2041 and 2051 respectively. Decreasing per capita water availability and rapidly increasing population in the country can cause a new crisis in the near future, on which it is very necessary to work on priority level with deep thinking, meditation.
C.W. The report of C. shows that due to excessive exploitation of ground water, the amount of water in the country is decreasing by 0.4 meters every year. If seen, due to excessive exploitation of ground water, mismanagement, uncontrolled development, urbanization and human activities, the drying up of surface water sources by becoming increasingly compacted, encroached and infected are causing increase in water demand.
The report of NITI Aayog states that due to lack of clean water in India, about two lakh people lose their lives in a year and 60 million Indians are facing some kind of water problems. The World Health Organization has said a minimum of 5 to 7 liters of water is essential for survival, as well as the cause of more than 86 percent of human diseases is attributed to contaminated water, of which hepatitis, typhoid, diarrhea and dysentery are the main ones. On one hand, while NITI Aayog has expressed concern over the possibility of doubling the demand for water in the country by 2030, if the data is to be believed, then India is ranked 120th in the list of 122 countries in terms of water quality index. reflects the following situation.
Water security is directly related to our biodiversity and food security is also an issue. According to an analysis by the United Nations Office, the devastating effects of drought and water insecurity have left about 2.4 million people in Kenya unable to get food every day. As a result, 3,68,000 people have faced emergency levels of hunger. Also, a report by Kenyan newspaper ‘The Star’ has put the lives of more than 4000 giraffes at risk due to drought, highlighting water insecurity in Kenya and the devastating brunt of the drought. The data also shows that about 2.5 to three thousand liters of water is required for the production of one kg of paddy. Clearly, water scarcity will directly affect agricultural productivity leading to increased rates of malnutrition and starvation.
According to the data of Jal Jeevan Mission of the Government of India, three hill states have topped in terms of water quality, in which Himachal Pradesh is first, Manipur is second and Uttarakhand is at third place. The water sources of the hill states and their water quality are in comparatively much better condition than other states, mainly due to less human interventions. But in a recently published article, concerns have been expressed about the drying up of 1200 water sources of Uttarakhand state, which can undoubtedly cause increase in the demand of water in mountainous areas in future.
If seen, the insecurity and mismanagement of water on earth is becoming a new crisis for the future, which requires meaningful and unprecedented efforts to avoid it.
For this, the importance of water has to be understood and the wastage of water will have to be stopped with public cooperation and the endangered water sources will have to dry up and the living and moving water sources will have to be saved from getting polluted and infected. If the water sources are alive and green, then there will be sufficient availability of water on the earth and the recharge and balance of ground water will be maintained properly, thereby avoiding the concern of water crisis on the earth and the dangers arising out of water scarcity in future. can go.