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Preserve water resources

Kashmir Times. Dated: 3/22/2017 10:47:52 PM

Dear Editor,
22nd March celebrated as World Water day. Water is the base on which our life is built. Day by day, it is becoming clear that water is going to be the biggest casualty of the modern development process. It is ironic that nature’s gift to humans is available only for money these days. We are forced to buy clean drinking water after having polluted every known source. Rain, rivers and wells have been man's traditional sources of fresh water. Global warming upsets natural patterns of rainfall. Rivers are slowly killed at their sources by steady destruction of forests and the construction of big dams, and overdevelopment of ground water.
Unless water is used equitably, and in a non-partisan manner, playing with it may prove to be more risky than playing with fire. A growing population and a consumptive lifestyle add to the depression. Development cannot be reversed. But technology could be reoriented to serve the dual purpose of conserving water and regulating its use. We have to pay attention to the importance of fresh water and be able to maintain the management of fresh water resources.
Don’t we think leaving aside global solutions, something should be done at the national and regional levels.William Ashworth who said that “Children of a culture born in a water-rich environment, we have never really learned how important water is to us. We understand it, but we do not respect it.”Water is central to our lives but has not been the central point of focus in our planning while we rapidly evolve into an urban society.
The water scarcity is mostly man made due to excess population growth and mismanagement of water resources. India is likely to face threat of a drought this year also as monsoon rains are expected to be weaker than average. The government needs to enhance its investment in technology and include all stakeholders at the planning level to ensure optimization of existing resources. A small steady water leak can cause a loss of 250,000 liters of water per year. Unless we are aware and conscious of water wastage we will not be able to avail the basic quantity of water that we need to carry on with our normal lives.
—Vinod C. Dixit,
B-15 Jyot-Kalash Society, Ahmedabad.