It is well-known that the great civilizations of the world, including ours, blossomed on the banks of rivers. These rivers are so revered in India that people worship them as their mother. Whether it is Ganga, Yamuna, Brahmaputra, Saryu, Narmada, Krishna, Godavari, Mahanadi, Chenab or Jhelum, Indians, particularly common men, have a feeling that their life moves with the flow of these rivers.
But due to increasing population; unplanned
growth of cities and industries in general; rampant river pollution; excessive
sand mining; cutting of trees in the catchment areas and other factors, the
sanctity and survival of most of these rivers are at stake. The plight of most
of them can be seen to be believed.
It is said that water covers about 70% of the surface of the earth, but only 2.5% water is drinkable. About 18% of the world population reside in India with 4% of the world's water sources. Indian Agriculture uses about 80% of water, Industries 10% and the rest 10% by Indian households and others.
It’s also notable that man can’t survive more than 3 days without water; a drop of water is worth more than a sack of gold to a thirsty person. Our household work can’t go smoothly for even 3-4 hours without water. But are we really aware of this and are also concerned about this? Don’t many of us use water thoughtlessly? Do we motivate our children to save water in all possible manner?
It is estimated that due to pipe leakage, faulty plumbing,
keeping the water running while bathing, brushing or lathering, leaving taps
open casually and other such reasons that can easily be addressed and set
right, more than 5000 crore litres of water are wasted daily in our country
which is sufficient for daily water consumption needs of about 33 crore people.
Can’t we do something to stop this massive wastage?
Fresh portable water is already a precious commodity in almost every part, particularly in many drier parts of the country. The packaged water industry has been flourishing speedily. It is said that the market size of the packaged drinking water in our country was valued at more than Rs.33000 crores in 2025 and is estimated to cross Rs.58000 crores by 2032. The tanker culture is penetrating an increasing number of cities very fast mostly without pertinent and plausible reason.
Despite these hard facts, the true value of water is yet to be fully understood even by the educated segments of society. That’s why some environmental activists say that it is imperative to bring back the culture of recognising the real value of water for saving and sustaining life on this planet.
You too must have seen blatant abuse and overuse of water even in certain government organisations and at the same time found to spend lots of public money in the name of water supply and its management.
Shouldn’t all government and semi-government organisations including public sector undertakings use water judiciously?
Yes, it is never too late to take
corrective steps to save this life saving liquid. To say, in the agriculture
sector efficient irrigation methods like drip and sprinkler systems can be used
in far more land area under irrigation from the current level of only 35
percent of irrigated land. Similarly, in high water consuming industries like
steel, chemicals, textiles etc., the modern water management systems should
replace the outdated ones wherever still in existence. It is heartening that
the Central Government has already initiated certain water use efficiency
measures in this respect.
As always, I'm keen to know what you think on this subject. Hence, I request you to post your comments to share your valuable opinion. (hellomilansinha@gmail.com)
# Published in my Sunday Column of "Morning India" daily. 