WATER CRISIS IN INDIA

In a list of 122 countries on the availability of quality potable water prepared by UNEP ,India ranks 120.This is surprising ,considering the fact that India has 4% of total water reserve of the world.According to the census report 2001 only 68% of the total households have access to quality potable water.37% of the population, of whom 75% are children are affected by water related diseases.In around 20 states, 60 million people are at high risk due to excessive amount of fluoride in water.While the permissible limit of Fluoride in water is 1 mg/lit, in Haryana it is as high as 48 mg/lit.Around 10 million people are at high risk of exposure to excess amount of arsenic in water.This is most severe in West Bengal.Due to excessive use of fertilizers,poor sanitation standards, the amount of nitrate in water in India is ever increasing.Moreover, water borne diseases like hepatitis,cholera,diarrhoea are frequent in India.High salinity of land is causing irreparable loss to agriculture.By 2020,India will be a water starved nation.

Some facts:

• Per capita availability of water during independence was 5000 cu mt/year.Now it has come down to 1800 cu mt/year.
• Water has been one of the cardinal reasons of inter state problems and inter regional clashes.
• According to a survey by World Bank, out of 27 Asian Cities with more than a million population,Delhi,Chennai,Kolkata and Mumbai occupy the bottommost position in terms of water availability per day
• Excessive nitrogen content in water leads to eutrophication or growth of aquatic weeds rendering water unsafe for consumption
• Waste of human resources due to travelling long distances in search of water.

Solutions:

1. Polluters Pay- a tax for polluting water in urban areas in both industrial and domestic levels.
2. Better solid waste management
3. Developing Public private partnership and chalking out a holistic plan for conservation and better management of water and proper execution of the plan through community development programs,extension networks
4. Rainwater harvesting
5. Water management system to recycle water waste in each industry.
6. Popularizing organic farming.