That water is now considered to be a resource that needs to be managed and distributed, even if in a just manner, is problematic. It fuels a contest for its ownership even though access to water is part of the fundamental right to life
The water crisis in India in general, and latur in particular, has taken on an unprecedented scale and, thus, invited out-of-the-box solutions. The sending of water wagons to latur is a case in point. The way Government agencies, media and civil society have responded to this looming crisis in the past one month, is enough to suggest that the complexities involved on this issue are multi-pronged.
However, three larger issues need to be addressed. First, crisis over water, as it appears for now, it is going to be all pervasive in the near future. Even the areas which are widely considered as ‘water abundant’ now are likely to be ‘water scarce’ for reasons that are human induced.
Second, efforts to find a solution to the water crisis are being driven by the logic of markets. Thus, whatever little is discussed and practiced, as course correction, is leading to a new set of problems.
Third, one needs to recognise that in response to the first two problems, one has to bring a solution that engages with local cultural practices and water harvesting techniques of a specific region rather than script a one size fits all formula.
To tackle the immediate latur water crisis, a water train with 10 wagons carrying five lakh liters water was sent. It is not for the first time in Indian history that such a water train has been sent. In 1986, the first water train was sent to Rajkot, as the city was facing an exodus due to water shortage.
Arguably, this time, the water crisis in latur seems deeper. large numbers of people have already moved to nearby places like Mumbai and Pune. Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure has been imposed in latur and Parbhani to prevent water riots. The gathering of five or more persons around filling and distribution areas where tankers supply water is now prohibited.
Water riots, scuffles between neighbours, tensions in the vicinity all indicate an ever pervading water crisis in our everyday lives. The paradox of our time is that a society where rituals and everyday practices are woven around water bodies like wells, ponds and rivers for generations, is now in a situation where law and order bars five persons to gather at one place to collect water.
It is worth mentioning here that in many cases, the Supreme Court has defined the right to water as part of the right to life. On the other hand, the number of deaths due to acute water shortage is continuously going up. People have to stand in lines for long hours and children are forced to leave studies or miss schools to fetch water. The mental agony of women who stay at home, across all classes of society, needs attention.
In the Indian context, the socio-political environs have largely shaped debates around water as natural ‘resource’. Moreover, in light of emerging discourses, increasingly shaped by the market, there appears to be notional changes vis-à-vis water. For instance, on the one hand, several social movements are strengthening human right discourse by demanding the right to water. On the other hand, bottled drinking water sold in the market has become an accepted norm.
With the advent of modern technologies and growing demand for water, exploitation of ground water has reached its limits. This has been despite the fact that for the past many years, climate experts have repeatedly cautioned against the looming water crisis. Can we delineate the complexities involved on the issue of waterIJ Is this due to climate changeIJ Is the water crisis because of over exploitationIJ Is modern lifestyle responsible for the crisisIJ
The clarion call for leaving it to the market to resolve all such issues has made the situation even worse. In recent past, the water ‘sector’ has gradually shifted its goal post.
Now the aim is to address the concerns of ‘clientele-oriented’ relationship between the state and citizens. The very fact that water is now considered to be a ‘resource’ that has to be ‘managed’ and ‘distributed’, even if in a ‘just’ manner, brings the issue of contestation over its ownership.
So far, the state, considered for long to be an efficient and just actor in India, has played a crucial role in shaping the pattern of water claims. Now that the multi-national corporations and private parties have become water claimants as well, the situation is going to become more complex.
The changing discourse of water in India also gets reflected in newly-coined terms like water ATMs, water-mining, and water footprint. ‘Water train’ is the buzzword today while ‘water riot’ is a new entrant.
The case of latur is distressing in numerous ways. Crop failures due to various reasons and acute water shortage as one of the most prominent among them have led to farmer suicides in the Marathwada region of Maharastra.
More than 12,000 villages have been declared drought-hit and the Government of Maharashtra has announced a grant Rs50 lakh to each village. It is worth mentioning that the politics of subsidies has its own limitations, as there are numerous riders to it. The time has come to accept that money cannot be a substitute for water.
(The writer is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Janki Devi Memorial College, Delhi University)