Diwan Singh
Summers are right next door. We have a short memory and the months of rain and winter lulls us into inaction on water conservation front. Let’s remember that the problem of scarcity of water would only increase with time. A macro view can help us understand why this problem will persist. A published study by Dr. Vikram Soni tells us that the water requirements of our co basin states i.e Punjab, Haryana and U.P exceeds the current availability, and, resultantly, the ground water table is falling in these areas. The report by NASA, released a few months back, attest the same fear of alarmingly falling water table. The efforts by farmers in Jhajjhar, Haryana , who breached canal taking water to Gurgaon, reflect on the potential conflicts ahead.
All of us, especially Dwarkaites, have been waiting for extra water through just completed Munak Channel. But, recent reports on Haryana refusing to release extra water are indicator of things to come. Maybe, Delhi, being the power capital gets away with its problems for some temporary phase. But not for long. When people are pushed to wall, only realism works.
Our own ground water table in Dwarka is falling down rapidly and the quality of water too is becoming unbelievably hard, almost unfit for domestic consumption. Can we still afford to sit quiet and wait for disaster to strike us?
Its better that we start living within the limits of resources available. It would be wise that we all adopt rain water harvesting at large scale, not only in our societies but also pursue it towards developing it in the vast expanse of parks available in Dwarka. We also need to control our water usage. For a start, let’s put some filled up water bottles in our toilet cisterns. At least, this will ensure that a few litres less of water will be flushed every day. Some people should set example by reusing the bath waste water in the toilets. Many innovative ideas can further be explored by people at ground level. Lets do it!
Writer is associated with Yamuna Satyagraha, Ridge Bachao Andolan and Natural Heritage First
