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http://101-solutions.org/ Thanks,Harinath On Fri, Dec 11, 2009 at 11:08 PM, Prasanthi Uppalapati < [email protected]> wrote: > > > Hi Friends, > > Source URL: > http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/dec/11/slide-show-1-water-crisis-what-india-is-doing.htm > > > If you are afraid because your tap has been running dry lately, then it is > time you braced yourself for worse times to follow. Terrifying times, in > fact. > > By the year 2020, says a recent World Bank report, most major Indian cities > will run dry. Given the state of the monsoon this year, it would appear that > the World Bank report has come true almost a decade earlier. > > Severe water shortage had already led to a growing number of conflicts > across the country, with 90 per cent of India's territory served by > inter-state rivers. > > India's supply of water too is rapidly dwindling primarily due to > mismanagement of water resources, although over-pumping and pollution are > also significant contributors. > > Climate change is expected to worsen the situation by causing erratic and > unpredictable weather, which could drastically diminish the supply of water > coming from rainfall and glaciers. > > However, we are not still ready to accept the reality of depleting > groundwater reserves in India. This condition has caused a major water > crisis. > > Water.org, an NGO with which Hollywood actor Matt Damon is closely > attached, gives some terrifying water facts (globally): > > 3.575 million people die each year from water-related diseases > > 43% of water-related deaths are due to diarrhoea. > > 84% of water-related deaths are in children ages 0 - 14. > > 98% of water-related deaths occur in the developing world. > > 884 million people, lack access to safe water supplies, approximately one > in eight people. > > The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any > war claims through guns. > > At any given time, half of the world's hospital beds are occupied by > patients suffering from a water-related disease. > > Less than 1% of the world's fresh water (or about 0.007% of all water on > earth) is readily accessible for direct human use. > > *More water facts* > > An American taking a five-minute shower uses more water than the typical > person living in a developing country slum uses in a whole day. > > About a third of people without access to an improved water source live on > less than $1 a day. More than two thirds of people without an improved water > source live on less than $2 a day. > > Poor people living in the slums often pay 5-10 times more per litre of > water than wealthy people living in the same city. > > Without food a person can live for weeks, but without water you can expect > to live only a few days. > > The daily requirement for sanitation, bathing, and cooking needs, as well > as for assuring survival, is about 13.2 gallons per person. > > Over 50 percent of all water projects fail and less than five percent of > projects are visited, and far less than one percent have any longer-term > monitoring. > > Only 62% of the world's population has access to improved sanitation - > defined as a sanitation facility that ensures hygienic separation of human > excreta from human contact. > > Every 15 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease. > > Millions of women and children spend several hours a day collecting water > from distant, often polluted sources. > > *Climate change, another threat* > > In an unprecedented incident, a 30-year-old man, who was part of a > 1,000-strong group protesting against the stringent water cut outside the > Bombay Municipal Corporation headquarters recently, died of apparent cardiac > failure during a police lathicharge. > > Viral Dholakia, who died before he could be taken to GT Hospital a few > metres away, was a founder member of Swabhimaan, an NGO set up by Narayan > Rane's son, Nitesh, who was also leading the protest. > > Incidents like these, however weird they may seem now, are bound to get > repeated unless we sit up and take some drastic steps to counter water > crisis, which is sure to assume alarming proportions in years to come > > With climate change set to have unpredictable consequences on water regime, > the action plan, he said, aims at increasing water use efficiency by 20 per > cent and promote basin level integrated water resources management. > > Noting that efficient use of crop water can increase the gross irrigated > area either by increasing the irrigated cropped area or the irrigation > intensity, the prime minister said that the second green revolution could > come from technologies developed in the private sector. > > "Water related issues need to be addressed with full involvement of local > people and taking into account the local conditions. Farmers should be > consulted in any agricultural water management initiatives. > > "Women too play a key role in food production activities in many countries. > A special effort should be made to involve them in decision making," he > said. > > *A few causes* > > This crisis is not just the disturbance in the demand and supply curve but > is also about mismanagement of water resources. > > India's water crisis is a man-made problem. One of the major problems is > water pollution. > > New Delhi alone produces 3.6 million cubic meters of sewage every day, but > because of poor managementm less than half is effectively treated. The > remaining untreated waste is dumped into the Yamuna River. Thus a > combination of sewage disposal, industrial effluents, and chemicals from > farm runoffs, arsenic and fluoride has rendered India's rivers unfit for > drinking, irrigation, and even industrial purposes. > > Also, the over-usage of ground water due to the unavailability of > sufficient water for irrigation has led to a tremendous decrease in the > level of ground water. > > Also, because of global warming, rainfalls have become erratic and > unpredictable because of which the agricultural sector has been affected > seriously. > > We need to take rational steps to manage water in India before it becomes > an international crisis, as this will affect the nation's economy and will > also lead to various water-borne diseases. > > The reasons for this extreme drop rate lie mainly in the use of groundwater > for irrigation, according to B M Jha, chairman of the Indian Central Ground > Water Board. > > The Central Ground Water Board is the apex national organisation, working > under the ministry of water resources and is responsible for various > activities related to exploration, development and management of groundwater > resources in the country. > > In the wake of the Green Revolution, irrigation of cropland in India has > taken on a new dimension. > > As the major reasons for the drop in the water table in the north-western > part of the country, Jha cites the accompanying gradual change in the > cropping pattern from wheat to paddy-grown rice, the latter being a more > water intensive crop, as well as the free power or the flat power tariff for > running the irrigation pump rigs. > > *How grave is the crisis?* > > In India, the groundwater table in some regions is dropping dramatically. > A team of researchers led by Matthew Rodell of the Hydrological Sciences > Branch of NASA recently measured just how severe the situation is for the > states of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana (including Delhi). > > The results were published in August 2009, in the online edition of the > science magazine Nature. > > According to these results, the water table in these regions is dropping by > 17.7 + 4.5 cubic kilometres annually. During the August 2002-October 2008 > study period, the groundwater loss was 109 cubic kilometres. > > This corresponds to twice the volume of India's largest surface water > reservoir. > > *Most Indian cities to go dry by 2020* > > India is expected to experience a severe water crisis by 2020 with the per > capita availability of water projected to be less than 1,000 cubic metres. > > Indian water scenario was a matter of grave concern, as 85 per cent of > water was used for agriculture, 10 per cent for industry and five per cent > for domestic use, according to a paper presented at a national symposium in > Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. > > Being a developing nation with a large population on the negative side of > the poverty line, economic water scarcity (limited access to fresh water > because of lower affordability) assumed equal, if not, greater importance as > that of physical water scarcity, it said. > > Quoting a World Bank study, it said of the 27 Asian cities with population > of over 10 lakh (1 million), Chennai and Delhi were ranked as the worst > performing metropolitan cities in terms of water availability per day, while > Mumbai was ranked as second worst performer, and Kolkata the fourth worst. > > Severe water shortage had already led to a growing number of conflicts > across the country, with 90 per cent of India's territory served by > inter-state rivers. > > The row between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over river Cauvery waters, between > Maharashtra and Karnataka over river Godavari, and between Madhya Pradesh > and Gujarat over the Narmada waters are some of the confilcts, the paper > said. > > The conflicts are being bitterly fought at all levels, imposing very high > economic environmental costs. > > Climate change projections showed India's water problems were only likely > to worsen and with more rain expected to fall in fewer days and the rapid > melting of glaciers, especially in the western Himalayas, India would need > to gear up to tackle increasing incidence of droughts and floods, the paper > said. > > Global fresh water supplies were continuously stressed by rising demands > from growing population and its ever increasing needs for hygiene, > sanitation, food and industrial needs. > > While the world's population tripled in the 20th century, the use of > renewable water resources has grown six-fold and within next 50 years, the > world population would increase by another 40 to 50 per cent, it claimed. > > On water facts, the paper said that a billion people in the world do not > have access to safe water, which was roughly one sixth of the world's > population. > > About 1.8 million people died every year as a result of diseases caused by > unclean water and poor sanitation, which amounted to around 5,000 deaths a > day. > > The simple act of washing hands with soap and water can reduce diarrhoeal > cases by over 40 per cent, since water-related disease was the second > biggest killer of children worldwide, after acute respiratory infections > like tuberculosis, it said. > > *Water crisis to affect agri production* > > Water crisis is sure to lead to a sharp decline in agricultural > production, which will negate all of the previous efforts at food security. > > India will become a net importer of grain, which will have a huge effect on > global food prices, as well as the global supply of food. A rise in food > prices will aggravate poverty because people will have to spend larger > portions of their income on food. > > In addition to devastating the agricultural sector of India's economy, the > water crisis will have a big effect on India's industrial sector, possibly > stagnating many industries. > > India has the power to avoid this dark future if people take action > immediately: start conserving water, begin to harvest rainwater, treat > human, agricultural, and industrial waste effectively, and regulate how much > water can be drawn out of the ground. > > *initiatives* > > According to the chairman of the Indian Central Ground Water Board, the > Indian government has taken various steps to get the groundwater problem > under control. > > Rainwater harvesting und artificial recharge schemes are playing a major > role in this endeavour. > > Other important points are capacity building, an awareness campaign on > rainwater harvesting and conservation of water resources and regulation of > groundwater development in selected areas of the country. > > Along with the central government, the state governments are also actively > involved in the fight against the dropping water table. > > They are offering stimuli to grow crops that require less water, they are > placing restrictions on financial institutions providing loans for > procurement of submersible pump rigs, and they are trying to stagger the > sowing season in such a way as to reduce the peak water demand. > > > > > > > -- > Thank you. > > with regards, > PRASANTHI. > http://groups.google.com/group/birdsofsamefeathers > ---- > When you want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you to > achieve it. > > -- Regards... Harinath http://harinath.in
