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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