But unfortunately, the generations started taking these vital gifts of nature for granted.And the consequences are out there in front of all of us in the form of scarcity of water,ground water contamination,famines and many other water related issues.Every year we get to witness the fury of nature at its best-some regions face deluge of the floods whereas some regions long for a drop of water.
The penultimate episode of the SMJ series today highlighted the water woes that people across the country face.This is despite the fact that India is blessed with a huge network of rivers like Ganges,Godavari,Indus,Krishna,Cauvery and others.Also,we are fortunate enough to get adequate monsoons.Yet it’s sad that water conservation wasn’t there on our priority list till the situation went out of hand.It’s a well known fact that 75% of earth’s surface is covered with water while only 3% of it is potable,which means how precious the water is.
As children we were taught in school ‘Rahiman paani raakhiye,bin paani sab soona’-how true!The clippings of parched lands from various regions were really disturbing.It was shocking to know that women in rural areas have to walk upto a total of 1400 kms in a year just to fetch water for their daily needs,OMG!Incidents depicting water worries were enough to water any pair of eyes.Even in urban areas we know that many residential areas are predominantly dependent on tankers for their water supply.
Flashing the news headlines about water wars between states is now a common occurance. Our ancestors would have never imagined in the wildest of their dreams that there would come one day when there would be blood-shed for water.Sad and disgusting isnt it?
We were shown the sparkling clean rivers of other countries like Thames,Charles,Singapore etc.On the contrary,the reverred Indian rivers are used as garbage grounds for pouring industrial wastes,untreated sewage,medicinal wastes,detergents etc.That makes me say that the term ‘holy river’ is itself a myth.River Yamuna is declared dead in its 800 km stretch.Ganga and other rivers are also no exception-‘Ram teri Ganga maili’ really stands true to its title.
And yes not only rivers,even the ground water is polluted.Against the popular buzzing trend,the escape route can’t be consuming packaged drinking water.This is because pesticides and residues of chemicals that contaminate our rivers are carried forward when the farms are watered with them as mentioned by Mr Ravi Agarwal from Toxics Link.The vegetables and fruits that we consume are found to contain traces of heavy metals and other toxic substances which may impair our mental growth.
Little do we realize this while consuming a portion of a healthy meal!!The worst part is that the most affected ones are our little angels as even mother’s milk becomes slow poison for them.
The solution which is very much possible to adopt and implement is rain water harvesting.Off late we have seen a growing awareness regarding this in both rural and urban areas.Naveen ji from Sealine society Mumbai and Ms Shanta Nair (Jal Naayika) from Tamilnadu have already set the right examples.Thanks for being the trend setters.
It’s time to give due credits.The best part of the episode was that it brought forth the fact that people haven’t been sitting silent over water shortage issues.The episode did bring to the spotlight areas that rose to the occasion and made their regions self-sufficient in water like Ramanthpuram,Nagdarwada,Hiwre Bazaar and others to name a few. Kudos to the people who brought back Alwari river-which had become history,back to the geography of Rajasthan!I salute all those who helped themselves instead of just blaming the government for all their woes.You guys are few among the real heroes of India. After all as the popular saying goes, God helps those that help themselves!
Overall it was an awakening episode. Awakening because the problem has a colossal potential to pose a threat for us in the coming years.The episode did have drizzles of light hearted moments when Mr Hanumant said no water no marriage for him.Lol,till date I could never think of water being a condition for a wedding! As the issue was of water conservation,for the first time even the tears were conserved and no emotional jerks happened during the episode.
Now comes the time for some action.The monsoons have arrived and rains shouln’t just give ideas for chai,pakora and bollywood rain songs.This is also an ideal time to harvest rain water. Will you make an effort to start harvesting rain water?If yes, then let’s take a pledge for the same and send message Y to 5782711.Make sure residents in your area do it religiously.
Save water-save life!Remember every drop we save counts.Once again the thought provoking song ‘Jal na jaye jal’ put a full stop to the episode beautifully.
Jai hind-Satyamev Jayate!
Shwetha Singh
Writers Gully