WATER IN CRISIS Article

WATER SCARCITY IN INDIA –
Bharat With a various population that's thrice the scale of the u. s. however
common fraction the physical size, Bharat has the second largest
population within the world. per the globe Bank, Bharat has taken
important steps to scale back poorness but the quantity of individuals
WHO sleep in poverty continues to be extremely disproportionate to the
quantity of individuals WHO are middle-income, with a combined rate of
over fifty two of each rural and concrete poor. Although Bharat has
created enhancements over the past decades to each the availability and
quality of municipal drinking water systems, its giant population has
stressed planned water resources and rural areas are ignored. Additionally,
rise in India's urban areas has stretched government solutions that are
compromised by over-privatization. Regardless of enhancements to water,
several different water sources are contaminated with each bio and
chemical pollutants, and over 21% of the country's diseases are water-
related. Moreover, solely thirty third of the country has access to ancient
sanitation. One concern is that Bharat may lack overall long-run
accessibility of replenish able water resources. Whereas India's aquifers
are presently related to replenishing sources, the country is additionally a
significant grain producer with a good would like for water to support the
trade goods. Like all countries with giant agricultural output, excess water
consumption for food production depletes the general formation. Many
rural communities in Bharat WHO are placed on the outskirts of urban
area even have very little selection however to drill wells to access
groundwater sources. However, any water system adds to the general
depletion of water. there's no straightforward declare Bharat that should
faucet into water sources for food and human sustenance, however India's
overall water accessibility is running dry. India's water crisis is
often attributed to lack of presidency designing, multiplied company
privatization, industrial and excretion and government corruption.
Additionally, water insufficiency in Bharat is predicted to worsen because
the overall population is predicted to extend to one.6 billion by year 2050.
to it finish, international water insufficiency is predicted to become a
number one reason behind national political conflict within the future, and
also the prognosis for Bharat isn't any completely different. On a positive
note, some areas of India are lucky to own a comparatively wet climate,
even within the most arid regions. However, with no rain construction
programs in situ, most of the water is displaced or dried up rather than
used. In these areas, rain harvest home might be one resolution for water
assortment. Collected water is in real time used for agriculture, and with
improved filtration practices to scale back water-borne pathogens,
conjointly quickly on the market for human consumption. Whatever the
suggests that, Bharat wants solutions currently. Kids in a hundred million
homes within the country lack water, and one out of each 2 kids are
starving. Environmental justice must be renovated to India so that families
will raise their kids with dignity, and providing water to communities is
one such thanks to best make sure that likelihood. However, 12 per cent
of India’s population is already living the 'Day Zero' scenario,
thanks to excessive groundwater pumping, an inefficient and
wasteful water management system and years of deficient rains.
The CWMI report also states that by 2030, the country's water
demand is projected to be twice the available supply, implying
severe water scarcity for hundreds of millions of people and an
eventual six per cent loss in the country's GDP. The Union
government recently formed a new Jal Shakti (water) ministry,
which aims at tackling water issues with a holistic and integrated
perspective on the subject. The ministry has announced an
ambitious plan to provide piped water connections to every
household in India by 2024. The ministry has set a tough target at
a time when hundreds of millions don't have access to clean
water. Aiming at laying huge pipeline networks for water supply
means that yet again, we are giving more preference to
infrastructure. Also, the moot questions are: what will happen if
there is no water to supply? What will happen to all the
wastewater that gets generated?
This indicates that there is a clear disconnect between water,

society and economy. Currently, we are interested in laying large
networks, constructing huge storage dams, fetching water from
150 kilometres and above, which involves a huge carbon
footprint. We are valuing land more than water, neglecting our
local water bodies, which have either gone dry or encroached.
Also, in many Indian cities, water is not properly distributed.
Some areas of mega cities like Delhi and Mumbai are privileged
to get more that than the standard municipal water norm of 150
litres per capita per day (lpcd) while other areas get 40-50 lpcd.
Aggravating the problem is that the water being supplied
currently is of drinking water standards. The World Health
Organization (WHO) states that an individual requires around 25
litres of water daily for meeting his/her basic hygiene and food
needs. The rest is used for non-potable purposes like mopping and
cleaning. This indicates that for most of the non-potable uses, a
quality lower than drinking water is required. Thus, for economic
efficiency and environmental sustainability, water must be treated
and supplied according to usage. To top this, are issues of leakage
losses, water pricing and metering of water. Lack of proper
maintenance of existing infrastructure causes further losses of
almost 40 per cent of piped water in urban areas.The road ahead
Looking at the current situation, there is a need for a paradigm
shift. We urgently require a transition from this 'supply-and-
supply-more water' provision to measures which lead towards
improving water use efficiency, reducing leakages,
recharging/restoring local waterbodies as well as applying for
higher tariffs and ownership by various stakeholders. A recovery-
based closed loop system is the need of the hour. It is time to go
back and start using our traditional practice of rainwater
harvesting — catching water where it falls. Presently, India
captures only eight per cent of its annual rainfall, among the
lowest in the world. Another aspect is the treatment and reuse of
wastewater. About 80 per cent of the water that reaches
households, leaves as waste and pollutes our waterbodies and
environment. There is a huge potential in reusing and recycling
this treated wastewater at least for non-potable purposes, which is
cost effective. All this leads to the fact that we need to promote a
decentralised approach, with a key focus on water conservation,
source sustainability, storage and reuse wherever possible. It is
important to understand that managing the water situation is not
the job of only engineers but all stakeholders including
hydrogeologists, economists, planners and most importantly,
communities themselves. Emphasis on behavioural change is not
getting enough attention because it is nuanced and complex. But
locals/citizens/ communities have a huge part to play. By keeping
in check our own usage and actions, we can contribute. A
Resident Welfare association (RWA) is essentially a
group-housing system in a layout, spread over an
area or built into floors of apartments in a building.
Whether the houses are laid vertically or
horizontally, these neighbourhood communities are
registered under cooperative laws or as civil
associations. RWAs are typically registered under
the Societies Registration Act, 1860. They are
entirely self-financed and self-managed. RWAs are
the finest expression of civil society consensus; an
answer to urban problems; a tool for community
building and for self-management and direct
democracy. An urban resident is endowed with
intensive communication skills, fast transport and
uninhibited relations with other human beings. They
can play a vital role in building up a knowledge-
based society. RWAs now exist in large number in
different parts of the country and in some states like
Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu
and Telangana, we have federation of RWAs. The
confederation of RWAs (CoRWA), founded in 2012, is
a pan India apex body of RWAs, located in
Hyderabad, Telangana. Firstly, schools/institutions
need to be made aware of the enormous benefits of
implementing RWH in their premises and how
suitable it is to apply this concept in educational
institutes than in any other land use type. In
general, schools have a vast catchment area
consisting of not only the rooftop but also the huge
playground that can collect the runoff. The RWH
system, if implemented in school premises, will not
only help in water augmentation in terms of
groundwater recharge or storage but can also act as
a flood control measure. This green initiative can be
further used as a demonstrative project for
knowledge dissemination and to create an
understanding of sustainability among students
within the education programme (Course
curriculum, clubs, green fair, being part of green
schools audit programme etc). Creation of zones
according to site conditions of the school: Let
us take the example of Delhi here. All schools
located in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of
Delhi have varied site conditions in terms of
groundwater depth (ranging from 2 metres below
ground level to more than 60 metres below ground
level); terrain (rocky near the Ridge to alluvial near
the Yamuna flood plain) and the surrounding land-
use pattern.
These attributes can be categorised into different
zones namely North, South, West, East and Central.
The current guidelines provided by the Delhi Jal
Board (DJB) only cover different options of
groundwater recharge. However, according to the
site conditions, the type of RWH system to be
implemented would vary.
For example, a site in East Delhi with a shallow

aquifer would not require a recharge structure.
Rather, a few options of retention area or storage
structure would suffice. There is a need to give RWH
options according to the site conditions within the
NCT of Delhi. This would help the user (school) to
identify an appropriate type of RWH system based
on its location.
BY: RITAM CHAKRABORTY

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WATER SCARCITY IN INDIA –

This indicates that there is a clear disconnect between water,

For example, a site in East Delhi with a shallow

BY: RITAM CHAKRABORTY

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