By: Barnali Bose ( Sr. Associate Editor-ICN Group )
KOLKATA: “ Water Water everywhere not a drop to drink ” says Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in his poem, ‘The Ancient Mariner’.The plight that we are soon likely to find ourselves in, is well echoed in the above-quoted line.
Notwithstanding the fact that ⅔ rd of the earth’s surface is covered by water, potable water comprises only 3% of it.
Water crisis, an international issue:
A survey conducted in 2014 shows that a quarter of the world’s major cities is under ‘water stress’ and are gradually but definitely moving towards a sure water crisis in the not-so-far future.
With human apathy towards conservation of nature and resultant climate change, it would not be an exaggeration to say that water is endangered.
According to a recent survey by a major International news channel, Cape Town heads the list of cities facing the threat of having ‘no drinking water’.
Besides Cape town,the other 11 cities worldwide enlisted in this category are Sau Paulo,Beijing, Cairo,Jakarta,Moscow,Istanbul,Mexico,London, Miami and Tokyo. In India,Bangalore has acquired an unenviable place in the list.
Bangalore’s water woes :
Bangalore being the pivot around which the IT industry in India revolves, there has been a major Influx into the city for technical education and jobs.
The lack of infrastructural development with regard to daily travel has been a major cause for concern for the daily commuter. To top it is the lack-a-daisy attitude in the implementation of proper pollution control measures.
The city’s outdated plumbing,it is said results in losing over half its drinking water to waste. A study of the city’s lakes have found that 85% has water suitable only for irrigation and industrial cooling.
Bangalore,once called ‘The City of Lakes’ is now more in the news for recurring fumes emission from the Bellandur Lake, a dumping ground for industrial effluents.
Last year even after a season of record rains, groundwater levels have not much increased and the ever-depleting water table is of serious concern. Experts accord this to unabated exploitation from borewells, run-offs( because of more concrete surface and less exposed ground )as well as erratic, intense rainfall.
An insight : Saving potable water a universal moral responsibility
History shows that the major ancient civilisations of the world developed in the river valleys. The easy availability of water necessitated such a decision then.
Population was not explosive,man was satisfied with the mere gratification of his basic needs and therefore did not feel the need to exploit living conditions elsewhere.
With the present condition of Mother earth bursting at the seams with her ever-multiplying inhabitants,every nook and corner( with the exception of Antarctica and the Sahara) is teeming with human habitation. Availability of water is not the same everywhere.
It is thus significant how we can sustain and save ourselves from the impending danger of becoming extinct because ‘no water’ would mean ‘no life’.
‘Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Makes a mighty ocean,
And a pleasant land’
These were the introductory lines of a poem I had read as a child. Their significance to me has increased manifold. True every drop of water saved is equal to a breath of life gained. To save water,let us apply in practice,the principle of the 3 R’s- Reduce,Recycle and Reuse.
Water is the real elixir,the nectar that spells sustenance and continuation of life on Earth.Let’s pause for a moment and think what wealth the future generation is going to inherit from us – Is it abundance or is it scarcity of water ? The choice is ours.
