प्रपत्र-7.3-जल संकट की आहट और जन-भागीदारी

Abstract

The core issue of water crisis in our country is being raised for the last several years. But the way in which this problem is becoming increasingly serious at present, has created an undeclared war-like situation for many countries of the world. If we talk about our country, NITI Aayog has already stated that today almost half of India is in the grip of serious water crisis. This crisis is serious because sometimes we have to face droughts and at other times there are floods. For the rest of days, that are left, mostly people get only dirty water for use. According to statistics, 70 percent of the water in India is dirty and 3 out of 4 Indians are forced to drink this dirty water. It is clear that the situation is worrisome. It demands immediate action and an ever-lasting solution. But while talking about solutions, we have to keep in mind that collective and community efforts cannot be undermined in any way as compared to the government schemes and official efforts. Public participation matters because every single drop of water is precious and efforts should be made to save every drop. The irrevocable truth about water is that, 'water is our future'. In India, we have always given importance to small dams, ponds, water wells and individual and community methods of water harvesting since the beginning of civilization. The arrangement of the ponds along with the temples and co-relating every religious ritual with water, suggests that the conservation of water is one of the primary duties of human beings. Today, these traditional methods of water conservation need to be revived and propagated to every village, city and town.