Can anybody survive without water? A rhetorical question with an obvious answer- NO. Has water scarcity, as a global issue, ever been given adequate attention other than being a controversial topic of debate amounting to nothing? Again, No. Is it too late to begin a true reform? Despite the diplomatic stance that says “ It’s never too late”, it is, in fact too close to being too late with experts coming up with new data suggesting that metropolitan cities like Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bengaluru are set to go under a water emergency by the year 2020 which is merely 6 months far from now. India has roughly 6 months to rectify and reform everything it has done wrong in the discipline of conservation of water. 60 crore Indians are at a risk of facing absolute water scarcity. As it is being reported, the end is nearing.

The reasons which have contributed to the emergency the country is at have often been a direct product of inadequate water management, overexploitation of freshwater resources, lack of governmental attention and recreational dependence. The subject water has always been neglected and pushed aside to limelight other comparatively insignificant issues and it has never gotten the attention it truly deserves. Water has been a natural resource that without doubt, sustains the existence of the entire world. With merely 1% of water bodies eligible for drinking, we stand at a cliff and it’s inevitable that we will fall if another step is undertaken in the wrong direction.

Also Read: The Water Predicament Embracing Modern India

Maharashtra, amongst the states of the country, is currently suffering an extreme drought condition and as the social apartheid goes, it is the economically poorer section that is burning under the consequences with essentially the agricultural industry falling apart like a house of cards. Farmers have been forced to make a choice between utilizing the available quantities of water to either irrigate their fields or keep their cattle alive. With a life that essentially depends on agricultural production and milk rearing to support survival, the choice is one between death by poverty or death by thirst. A similar situation is in the rise in the Northern part of Karnataka ensuing a mirrored predicament within the agricultural industry.

The present crisis that Chennai is experiencing is the worst in the longest time forcing the lesser privileged sections to go about without a single drop of water supply for as long as two weeks.

Only rain can save Chennai from this situation. A well completely empty, and a city without water. The southern Indian city of Chennai is in crisis after the four main water reservoirs ran completely dry. The acute water shortage has forced the city to scramble for urgent solutions and residents have to stand in line for hours to get water from government tanks. A s the water levels depleted, hotels and restaurants started to shut down temporarily and the air con was turned off in the city’s metro. Officials in the city continue to try and find alternative sources of water- but the community continues to pray for rai -BBC News

The question has been asked and re-asked- Is it the late monsoons to blame or is it a complete man-made disaster? High time, humankind takes the responsibility of what has been done and has been ignored long enough that it has metamorphosed into a situation beyond immediate control- one that cannot be treated with ignorance any further.

Also Read: A High Time, A High Tide

India is a country where there is a hierarchical movement of water from the people towards the lower strata to the ones towards the upper end. While one side of the pole experiences acute loss, the other finds resources at hand at the expense of money which is not a problematic equation in the least. With this money play comes the privatization of water resources with the tanker “mafia” offering water supply at significantly high prices catering exclusively to the well-off population while the major underdeveloped section which is in majority in the country obviously fails to resort to such alternatives. As remarked by TK Rangarajan, a CP(IM) MP, in a Rajya Sabha debate, “A tank of private water costs more than one gram of gold. Now gold is cheaper in Chennai than water. This is the truth.” The privatization was a step which was expected to be fruitful in the practice of managed distribution which really is an impractical approach if the prices are to be kept as high. Farmers don’t even earn as much in two weeks and to top the grief, most agricultural produces require large amounts of water for adequate produces. 22500lts of water is necessary for 1kg of cotton, about 2800lts for 1 kg rice and 1654lts for wheat. The entire system is intensely water-driven, and unavailability of the same would eventually boil down to much-stunted food produce. The future is set to spiral into an inevitable mishap marking a terrifying conclusion.

To bring a considerable change in the crisis, P Sainath, a journalist, and an agricultural expert suggests guaranteeing “the minimum requirement of every citizen which then destroys the scarcity market and ensure legally as several countries have done that every citizen would get a minimum amount of water”. The thought behind the suggested measure would ensure that water remains a basic natural right rather than being capitalized upon as a marketable commodity.

Also Read: Ganga Takes A Deep Breath

It has been a dreadful revelation and requires an immediate identification by the State powers. Cosmetic developments like the newly appointed Jal Shakti Ministry under a full-fledged cabinet minister Gajendra Singh Shakhawat that amalgamates the ministries of water resources, river development and Ganga Rejuvenation with the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is not enough and the state bodies ordering temples to organize “yagyas” to reach out to the deity of rain is unfortunately futile. Major reformations have to be made and the Central government has to take up the charge of the same. Drip irrigation systems supporting the agricultural needs, removal of encroachments from water bodies, setting up stringent restrictions on uncontrolled irrigation forming a threat to the bore well water supply system, to name a few, could bring about relief in ling term implementation.