India faces water shortage causing massive public unrest. Niti Ayog suggests this is just the beginning. How did the government
The Tamil Nadu crisis is a sign of the upcoming catastrophe. Madhya Pradesh is now facing a state of the water crisis, seeking the central government’s help to fix the situation.
Tamil Nadu faces a major water crisis today. The state government has reduced the water supplied in the state from 830 MLD (Million Litres a Day) to 525 MLD. This crisis is the cause of massive public unrest. All sectors of the state, be it the establishments, the small businesses or the middle class, are suffering from this crisis.
The delay of monsoon hitting Tamil Nadu has worsened the situation because it is the main source of water supply for the state.
The unrest is not limited to Tamil Nadu though. Citizens of various states have to stand in queues for hours and walk miles to get water. Most find contaminated wells and dried out handpumps.
Large establishments reduce their working hours and IT companies tell employees to work from home as the crisis rages on.
CM of Tamil Nadu, K Palaniswami believes that this water shortage is unprecedented. A report by Niti Ayog suggests that this may be a glimpse of our future.
Satellite images show the main supply bodies in the capital city dried out compared to images from 2018.
Lack of water conservation and rain-water harvesting along with no serious political impetus for replenishing the groundwater has evolved this situation into a crisis.
The situation may not get better for at least another month caused by constant deforestation and global warming. This has caused the groundwater table in Tamil Nadu to deplete at unprecedented levels.
Tamil Nadu’s capital is experiencing an ongoing dry spell for the past 190 days. This has consequently led to a crisis situation which will continue for the foreseeable
Tamil Nadu depends tremendously on Monsoon for most of its water needs.
Desalination is one way Tamil Nadu is trying to fight this situation of crisis. But it is an expensive process. It is likely to stay that way because of the lack of technological advances.
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu blatantly said, ” The water crisis in Tamil Nadu is unprecedented. The issue is being made bigger than it is, especially by the Media.”
Poor water management and extreme exploitation of groundwater are showing effects in Northern parts of India as well.
600 Million people in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana among others are now facing an acute shortage of available clean drinking water.
The crisis will peak – soon: Niti Ayog
According to a 2018 report, the water index scores were compiled for the first time in the history of the country. This was done through NITI Ayog portals wherein multiple departments and agencies compiled data related to ground water.
The sources for data collection face obstacles in coverage, reliability and efficiency.
| Dkoding| NITI Ayog |
The biggest challenge to groundwater management in India is the
In parts of Delhi and old Gurgaon, the population is reeling from the effect of overexploited water sources. As water sources decline in quality and in quantity, conservation is the need of the hour.
How does this Stack up against International Data?
In 2015-26, 63.3% of Rural household and 19.4% of urban households lacked sanitation facilities while six hundred and sixty-six Million people are still without improved drinking water sources.
Water related disasters account for 70% of all disaster related deaths.
Against the stated objectives, India has only achieved limited food security. The world commission on Dam study suggests that a century of large scale development activity has caused major ecological and social impacts. A UNESCO report suggests this development has cuased human displacement, soil erosion, widespread water-logging and pollution of major water bodies.
The submersible problem
Niti Ayog marked 60% of Indian states as low-performers. This is due to the ineffectiveness of the government’s submersible policy.
Widescale use of tube-wells and borewells has caused
Filling of lakes for progress and development is the irresponsibility of state departments. The same states are facing acute-water shortages and in turn, chaos today.
This is global warming and deforestation showing strength against those who claim it is fake news.
How did the Indian government not see this coming?
Measures have been launched by the Indian government at different points of time but ineffectiveness stays common throughout. The right to water was recognised by the supreme court in 2000. The National Water Policy has been revamped into different names at various points but they have remained ineffective in all cases till today.
The question persists – why does the government remain ignorant? Do election campaigns hold more important expenditure than fixing a national water crisis?
The water institutions functioning today are essentially established since the British era.
21 major cities will run out of groundwater by 2020. This, in turn, will leave 40% of India’s population lacking drinking water as demand doubles available supply in 2030.
Unavailability of clean drinking water is a cause of 200,000 annual deaths in India. If water conservation is not taken seriously, it is going to be the fall of civilised society as we know it. The violent clashes happening because of the acute water crisis today throughout the country are evidence of this prophecy.
By: Chitresh Sehgal, Senior Editor, Dkoding Media
The state of crisis requires political and public impetus to conserve water in order to survive the foreseeable future.
