As the nature is playing a
spoilsport here, it is a very tricky problem. There are many factors involved,
and there is no single solution to address it. The primary solution to our
water issues is in fixing what we eat. Contrary to popular myths, it is not our
domestic water usage or industrial water usage for Coke and other industries that
form the primary water consumption. It is agriculture. According to the figures
released by Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UNO, 91% of all the
available fresh water is used in agriculture, and this has not changed much
over time (http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/countries_regions/IND/).
Producing 1Kg of rice requires
2,497 litres of water, and producing 1Kg Meat needs 15,415 litres of water.(https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/jan/10/how-much-water-food-production-waste
).
On the other hand, what we eat
has changed dramatically over the years. We have been consuming a lot of water
intensive foods of recent. We have moved from millets to rice that requires
standing water and a lot of it. Also, meat consumption is steeply on the rise, which
requires raising livestock which consume a lot of water. The solution probably
lies in moving out of water-guzzling foods. We cannot afford to have 1.3
billion people eating water guzzling foods like rice and meat. The burden is
just too much for the sources available in the tropics. Either we change our
eating habits or import these water expensive foods from elsewhere. (Non-water
intense crops grown may parallely be exported, which solves the issues of
balance of trade). The result of this dramatically growing consumption of water
is that India is getting water stressed acutely. According to a 2008 research
by UNEP, by 2025, India is going to be as water stressed as the Middle East.
Since Tamil Nadu is going through
a major drought the farmers are demanding a humongous Rs. 40,000 Crore rupee support
package from the centre. That is a too large, even for the central government.
The centre has given Rs. 2,200 crores in aid, and worries that it cannot afford
to pay that huge sums to all the states affected by droughts.
What feels really shameful is how
of late, Tamil emotions have trumped logic, anger has ridden roughshod over
knowledge, and there is nobody, certainly in the political circles, and spheres
of influence that can bring some sanity to heated exchanges, many on the
assumption that the Central government is somehow inimical to Tamilnadu and its
people. The local political climate is very much to blame at the forefront of
all this, because it is when people are emotional and sensitive, devoid of
logic and acting like chickens running around without heads, that they are most
vulnerable to poaching for votes.
For decades, dyeing units have
poisoned the waters of the Kaveri, making the river useless for human
consumption, and these are very Tamilnadu business interests, and there has
been no massive protest. Why? Because the politicians have their pockets stuffed
by these very business interests, and nobody cares how farmers suffer,
groundwater has been damaged for lifetimes, and people of Tamilnadu are
suffering from the shortfall of water.
Every expert has laid out plans
for tapping rain water through harvesting it, cleaning out canals and lakes to
aid storage of dams, and replenish the groundwater with existing amounts of
rainfall, so that a drought can be avoided. Have people of Tamilnadu, or for
that matter have people from any part of the country gone on protest for every
house not implementing rain water harvesting plants? Or have people have been
honest to each other by not using suction pumps to steal extra water from
supply lines? None of that spurs any protests.
The farmers have every right to
demand help, to pull them out of this difficult situation. But while they seek
for help, they have to be very careful whom they elect next time. They have to
also protest for their government to be proactive in water preservation and
rainwater conservation. They have to vote for a government which has its
intentions and interests in the welfare of people. Not a criminal charged with
holding disproportionate assets (who fortunately or unfortunately is no more),
or a puppet who used to take advice (or rather, orders) from the same criminal when
in jail to run his government.
There is always blame game played by everyone. It is true that even though we have a decentralised government system there are loopholes everywhere. The so called leaders are more into filling their bank account rather than governing the area they are alloted. Politics has become a dirty word. There is no permanent solution for what we are facing. It is people in general should understand the situation and act accordingly
ReplyDeleteAs common people all we can do is elect a politician who we think is fair. But there is no guarantee that he/she will keep up the trust of the people. We as common people can try keep the surroundings clean. Though not directly we can contribute to the clean environment. Stop washing clothes with the river water, dropping the wastes and plastics in the water bodies. All these little things will save the resources. It's high time that we stop expecting something from the politicians. As long as voice is not raised against apocryphal politicians, and getting it implemented we will have to bear this.
Lots of factors are involved Meenakshi. Change has to be brought. Slowly and steadily. Lets hope for a better tomorrow.
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