Efforts should be made to revive water conservation structures and build new ones. Overground and underground water banks must be created. India's rich water conservation heritage needs a revival
When you see clouds gathering, prepare to catch the rain”, is an Golan proverb from liberia. This is what India needs to do desperately. This year, the India Meteorological Department has projected an above normal monsoon. Nothing can bring more cheer to the people who have been grappling with a water crisis that has even affected cricket matches.
Predictions of an above normal monsoon has been received as a sigh of relief by economists. Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao once stated that even the RBI chases the monsoon, and the reasons are not hard to find.
Drought has affected several States this year: Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are all reeling under drought.
The story is the same everywhere. At village Sarkhedi in Talbehat block of lalitpur district in Uttar Pradesh, the elderly make for a large percentage of the residents. The able-bodied men have migrated in search of labour work to nearby cities. Crops have wilted, and wells and other water sources are dry. There is no money and no work.
Stories of struggle abound. In villages in Madhya Pradesh for instance, children are precariously lowered into wells to capture the last drop of water. Even pregnant women in Telangana walk miles to get a pot of water, which they carry on their head, putting their unborn child at risk.
When there is scant water, there are few jobs. And when there is no water, there is mayhem. Already, alarm bells are ringing. At Tikamgarh district in Madhya Pradesh, the president of the municipality to employs armed guards against water theft. The purpose is to deter farmers from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh from ‘stealing’ water from the municipality’s only source of drinking water. Four local guards are armed with licensed full-length and sawed-off 0.315 bore rifles.
In latur, Maharashtra, as a preventive measure against riots, people’s gathering near water sources in the Marathwada region has been banned. No more than five people are allowed at wells and public storage tanks. After all, thirst can lead to frayed tempers and short fuses.
In Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala, when the model code of conduct kicked in soon after the announcement of the State election, tanker water distribution services to rural areas were affected. The tri-weekly appearance of the tanker was reduced to a sight once in 12 days.
Water is a perfect blackmail weapon. In February this year, security forces had to take over the Munak canal as Jat agitators damaged the canal, tightening virtually strangling water supply to the national capital. Estimates indicate that around 60 per cent of the taps in Delhi ran dry. The capital city was yet again vividly shown how its water dependency makes it vulnerable to blackmail. Clearly, settlements need to be water-independent.
This monsoon forecast brings cheer, and offers a chance to re-write destiny. Rains should not go waste: Every raindrop needs to be captured. After all, there is no place in India which does not receive some rain. It’s time we did ourselves a favour by respecting the monsoon.
Efforts should be made to revive water conservation structures or build new ones, however small. Whatever rain falls must be conserved. India’s rich water conservation heritage needs a revival. Overground and underground water banks must be created.
Funds available through Government programmes can help. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has assumed great relevance in Bundelkhand and is providing much-needed employment and, therefore, has not only generated money, but has also revived Bundela and Chandela tanks and created med bandhis.
Small amounts of money from the general population can also help. Says 2015 Stockholm Water Award winner Rajendra Singh: “The people are in severe distress. Confidence levels have reached rock bottom. People have given up hope. We must stand with them and help them.”
Red flags waving from different parts of the country tell a story of great thirst with more to follow. It is time to galvanise action. Or else, as a Turkish proverb warns, “When one man drinks while another can only watch, doomsday follows.”
Meanwhile hectic efforts are on to revive the Chandrawal river in Mahoba district of Bundelkhand in Uttar Pradesh. Will cultivation of the famed mahoba paan, noted for its taste and medicinal value and affected by lack of water, be revivedIJ Only time will tell.
(The writer is Policy lead: Food Security, Resource Scarcity and Climate Change with IPE Global)