Experts' take on solutions to India's water crisis
At the risk of stating the obvious, water is precious. Potable water, more so. Water, which presumably should ideally be a human birthright is becoming dearer in that like anything else in the economy, the demand is rising, the supply is falling and the price is skyrocketing. Do we understand the gravity of the situation? Is there a real reason to be concerned or are we just being a little paranoid. Are we victims or perpetrators? or perhaps hopefully we are both. That just mean it is up to us to make the change.
So we turned to twitter to ask experts what they think. Following is what ensued.
Experts are of the opinion that water is sourced mainly from the ground and it is most used in the area of agriculture. We know that the groundwater levels are diminishing and agricultural demands are increasing as our population flourishes.
Surely, there are some stats that will validate the information so that we don’t go by mere hunch.
While the outcome is one, the causes seem to indicate that the problem is really systemic. Depleting water sources, pollution, rising demand, poor management, and pathogens make water inaccessible.
There are infrastructural and governance factors that contributes to this problem.
If we are able to narrow it down to infrastructural intervention, the next step is to identify what can be done.
While these are macro level solutions, there has to be some way that individuals can contribute to the cause.
The very basics of reducing and optimising water usage by knowing when to keep taps running, at what level and when to turn if off goes a long way. So does reusing rainwater and fixing leaky pipes.
Can the language we use change help change perception of what we have to deal with?
Wastewater has a connotation of being unusable or even untreatable.
What does a water conserving community look like?
In the simplest terms, it's all about empowering the individual to serve the community. Everyone has to be made a part of the decision making process.
Naturally synthesising the individuals, communities, and systems would cause a cultural change. We asked how we could build a culture that believes in, and practices water conservation.
Awareness campaigns, access to technology and tax benefits ties everything together.
Water conservation is an urgent concern and requires individual ownership and participatory efforts to fix. The fact is that we have put ourselves in this situation of water crisis, and only we can take steps to make sure we don’t run out water. It’s time to start conserving water, before it gets too late.
Alarm Bajne Se Pehle #JaagoRe
Disclaimer:
The views expressed by the experts belong to the experts alone, and do not necessarily reflect that of the brand.
Share this story on