Currently India is facing acute water shortage. From east to west and north to south, the water crisis has become a severe problem due to which people are dying. As per the Composite Water Management Index Report, 600 million in India are facing water shortage problems and nearly 200,000 people are losing their lives every year. And as per the NITI Aayog report, 21 cities including Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata will run out of water by 2020. Further, the report also says India ranks 120 among 122 countries in water quality index.
The situation has worsened and data like this worries us, pushing us into into deep reflection over the water crisis and climate change.
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are on the top of the list where people are facing acute water crisis. According to another study, climate change has caused 60,000 farmers to die. As per this report, 60% underground water level has declined over 10 years.
The government declined to accept this crisis as Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat says the water crisis is not as big as the media is hyping it up as. Situations like this become dire, especially when governments suppress NCRB data of farmer suicides and don’t take decisions to curb climate change and air pollution.
The question is why is the mainstream media silent about this? Why does the government prefer to conduct politics over religion instead of curbing climate change, water crisis and the outbreak of encephalitis which killed more than 150 innocent children?
According to me, the simple answer to these questions is that we elect government based on religion, caste, the mandir-masjid issue rather than development, education, health facilities, climate crisis, etc. Why should we expect the government to work for an issue we have not voted them in for?
When will we elect our government based on relevant issues?
According to environmentalist Vimlendu Jha, the solution to the water crisis problem and climate change is rain water conservation, better water management planning, proper agricultural practices, focus on rivers’ and ponds’ health. The government should not allow the building of dams and barrages in eco-sensitive zones and accept that climate change is a reality that needs to be focused on immediately.