If groundwater continues to be used so mercilessly, the situation will become critical.

It is being said that in the future, conditions may arise for war to break out in the world over water, because when the availability of water in the ground continues to decrease at the same rate, then the present places (cities and villages) will be destroyed. But the population living there will be forced to move to other places. In such a situation, more and more people would want to settle in those places where there is sufficient availability of water and then the citizens would create a situation of war among themselves.

The respected elders of our society are constantly warning us about the problems related to the unavailability of water in the future, but as citizens of this country, we are still not taking this problem seriously, which may have very bad consequences for us or Our future generations may have to suffer.

Addressing the ‘Water Vision 2047’ conference on January 5, 2023, the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that we have to involve the public, social organizations and civil society as much as possible in the campaigns related to water conservation. Although today techniques like geo mapping and geo sensing are playing an important role in the work of water conservation and various startups are also cooperating in this work, yet it is very important for the citizens to be aware in this context. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has also been made successful by the citizens of India in the same way. The government mobilized resources, did many things like building water treatment plants and toilets, but the success of the campaign was ensured when the public thought not to spread filth. When everyone joined this campaign and consciousness and awareness came in the public, only then this campaign could be successful. Today there is a great need to awaken the same thinking among the public for water conservation.

Similarly, respected Sir Sanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh while addressing ‘Sujlam International Seminar’ called for restrained use of water and to save water. The said seminar is a part of a series of programs called ‘Sumangalam’ being run in the country. Its main objective is to present the unique Indian concept of preserving the purity of the five basic elements of nature or ‘Panchamahabhoot’ – earth, water, fire, air and space. On the environmental crisis, a deep crisis is being seen in the whole world including India. India is capable of getting rid of this catastrophe.

Let us first try to understand the ever increasing problem of water crisis. Only 4 percent of the fresh water source available in the whole world is present in India, while 18 percent of the total population of the world is being provided water in India. According to the Central Water Commission, in the year 2010, 78 percent of the total fresh water sources present in the country were being used for irrigation, which will remain at the level of about 68 percent till the year 2050. In the year 2010, the amount of water used in domestic works was 6 percent, which will increase to 9.5 percent by the year 2050. In this way, the agricultural sector will remain the largest user of water in India so that the availability of sufficient food grains remains for the future. Only about half of India’s 198 million hectares of cropped area is irrigated. Ground water (63 percent) is used as the most important source for irrigation, while canals (24 percent), aquifers/tanks (2 percent) and other sources (11 percent) also contribute to it. Thus, the real burden of irrigation in Indian agriculture is on groundwater. The overall situation is that 1,592 blocks of 256 districts have reached critical or over-absorbed ground water.

Similarly, out of 400 cities in the world facing water crisis, 4 cities in the top 20 (Chennai first, Kolkata second, Mumbai 11th and Delhi 15th) are in India. According to the Composite Water Management Index, 21 cities of the country can reach zero ground water level soon.

The average annual rainfall in the country is 110 cm and only 8 per cent of the rain water is stored, the remaining 92 per cent goes waste. Therefore, in the country, in urban and rural areas, water is being supplied by using ground water. Ground water is being used so mercilessly that today the situation has become so bad in many parts of the country that even after digging the ground up to 1000 feet, water is not coming out from the ground. According to a report released by an international organization, 24 percent of the ground water being used in the whole world is being used only in India. This is more than the groundwater used by both the US and China combined. For this reason, India’s ground water level is rapidly decreasing.

We have been seeing since childhood that there were very old water springs at many places in the hilly areas of India. Along with this, there were water-filled wells and stepwells in the plains. There was very tasty water in the glasses. That water never dried up even in summer. But for the last several years, wells, rivers and drains are drying up in the plains. The glasses have also dried up in the hilly areas, the water flowing in them for centuries has disappeared. Such a big accident has never become a topic of discussion in the country, it should be a matter of concern for all of us aware citizens. It is being said that many of the plants planted in India by importing seeds from abroad are negative energy and harmful. Air, water, land are being polluted by these plants and there are serious side effects on the health, body and mind of the living beings. Probably the ground water is also drying up because of these plants. Whatever foreign plants are being planted in India, before planting them, they should be duly examined by botanists in the laboratory and only after that any plant should be allowed to be planted on Indian soil.

Along with the above, it is necessary to control the use of water at the irrigation level without affecting the food security of the country. By effectively implementing drip and sprinkler techniques, water consumption for irrigation per acre can be reduced by up to 40 percent. Such crops, which require more water to grow, such as sugarcane and grape cultivation, etc. should be gradually reduced in water scarce areas and they should be shifted to those parts of the country where water is available every year. Flood situation is created due to excess rainfall. For example, sugarcane crop can be shifted from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh to Bihar. Efforts should also be started to connect the different rivers of the country so that the situation of flood in one part of the country and drought in the other part can be dealt with. A lot of water is wasted due to leakage in the pipeline at various levels, the government should also make serious efforts to prevent such leakage.

Today it is also necessary that we save a lot of water by paying attention to many small tasks in the house. For example, (i) while brushing teeth, instead of taking water directly from the tap, brush with water in a container, (ii) while shaving, instead of using running tap, shave with water in a container, (iii) bath Take a bath by filling water in a bucket instead of using the shower while washing clothes, (iv) keeping the tap water running while washing clothes at home, and (v) use the flush button in the toilet. Use water in a bucket instead. According to an estimate, paying attention to all these small actions can save more than 300 liters of water per day per family.

Overall, if all of us citizens of India are not aware about the conservation of water in time, then the proverb “Without water, everything is lost” will become a reality in our lives.

– Prahlad Sabnani

retired deputy general manager

State Bank of India