By Deepak Joshi
Scholars in the field of Geo-Politics and political historians often say that the third world war may be fought over issues arising from water crisis and related disputes.
“If there is water, there is tomorrow”, yet water is wasted unnecessarily. We should not forget that the solution to the water crisis lies only in conservation of water. We have always heard “Water is Life”.
A bright tomorrow cannot be imagined without water; water is required to perform all the functions of life.
Water is an invaluable resource available on Earth, or rather, water is the basis for the survival of all living beings.
About three-fourths of the earth is covered with water, but 97% of this water is salty, which is not potable. The amount of potable water is only 3%. In this also, 2% water is in the form of glaciers and lakes.
Thus only 1% of water is truly available for human use.
With the rapid pace of urbanisation and industrialisation, increasing pollution and continuous increase in population, ensuring availability of drinking water to every person is a big challenge.
As the heat is increasing, the problem of water is becoming acute in many parts of the country.
The problem is increasing more than before, but we always think that as soon as the summer season ends, the water problem will go away as soon as the rains come. Thinking this, we remain indifferent towards water conservation.
The World Economic Forum believes that the problem of water crisis will become even more severe in the coming years. The report of the same organisation further states that more than 75 percent of the people around the world are facing the problem of water shortage. The ‘World Water Day’ celebrated on 22 March is not just a formality, but a day to make others aware in this context by taking a pledge to conserve water.
Despite knowing about the unavailability of clean drinking water and many other related problems, a large population of the country is not aware of the need for water conservation. Where people get water with difficulty, they understand the importance of water, but those who get water without any problem are seen to be careless. Even today, water is wasted recklessly in cities for washing vehicles and other unnecessary work.
Polluted water contains high amounts of sulfates, iron, etc., drinking which causes many diseases. According to a study by the World Health Organization, more than 86 percent of diseases around the world are caused by unsafe and contaminated drinking water. Currently, about 1600 aquatic species are on the verge of extinction due to water pollution, while about 1.10 billion people in the world are forced to drink contaminated drinking water and are surviving without clean water.
Such a situation is a matter of concern for both the government and the general public. If prompt steps and meaningful initiatives are taken in this direction, the situation can be brought under control to a great extent, otherwise this task will become challenging for all of us in the next few years.
(The author is a government teacher in Thailisain, Pauri Garhwal.)
