Some 15 years ago, as a small kid I saw my grandfather start a change. Moved by the plight of the heat stressed and water starved people of our native village, in the desert state of Rajasthan, he installed a water cooler from his pension money and hard earned savings. Closer, in the balcony of our home, he always kept a plate filled with water for the thirsty birds outside, never ever letting it go empty.
It is said that the things you see as a child are the ones that carve deep impressions on your mind eventually forming your character. It is true. Today, if there is one social issue that I feel for strongly, it is – clean drinking water or the lack of it.
Lack of drinking water in villages and rural areas
In the course to development, one of the biggest hurdles that comes in the way of India is a rapidly worsening water crisis especially in the rural and tribal areas. The cruel blow of water shortage has struck a big chunk of the Indian population leaving a lot of villages in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and many other states reeling in pain. Rising population, a parched farm belt, indiscriminate use of water and natural calamities like drought have made water meager in some places and dirty in others. Either of these situations creates a crisis that is not only difficult to resolve but also aggravates with time.
To understand what I mean, walk in one of those drought-prone villages of India or better still, simply look at this visual.
(Image courtesy: ki-media.blogspot.com)
More than 700 million Indians do not have adequate sanitation,
let alone safe drinking water.
The consequences are there for all of us to see and ponder. Life for the villagers is a battle each day, plagued with a multitude of problems, significant amongst them being the lack of safe drinking water – a problem which threatens the very survival of the populace. It is disheartening to know that a glass of water which, for most of us reading this right now, is simply a few paces away is miles and miles away for many!
Women are left with no option but to trek long distances just to get that one bucket of water that would seemingly suffice their domestic needs for the day. And many times this is their only job, to collect water in the day and store it for their family! In Rajasthan, the desert state of India, a rural woman, on an average, walks more than 14000 km a year just to fetch water. Slogging bare feet in the scorching heat over deserts traversing difficult terrains and jagged territories, these womenfolk paint nothing but a sorry picture. They live a life of utter drudgery yet make sure to hide this melancholy beneath a warm and welcoming smile. The harsh situation of water is best illustrated by a saying in Bundelkhand, a water stressed region in Uttar Pradesh,
Women are left with no option but to trek long distances just to get that one bucket of water that would seemingly suffice their domestic needs for the day. And many times this is their only job, to collect water in the day and store it for their family! In Rajasthan, the desert state of India, a rural woman, on an average, walks more than 14000 km a year just to fetch water. Slogging bare feet in the scorching heat over deserts traversing difficult terrains and jagged territories, these womenfolk paint nothing but a sorry picture. They live a life of utter drudgery yet make sure to hide this melancholy beneath a warm and welcoming smile. The harsh situation of water is best illustrated by a saying in Bundelkhand, a water stressed region in Uttar Pradesh,
Let the husband die but the earthen pot of water should not be broken.
(Image courtesy: http://wh2ojournal.com)
According to a U.N. report,
about 2.1 million children die every year, largely for lack of clean water.
The children aren't left behind either and get dragged into all this, often involuntarily. This directly impacts their pursuit to education and hampers their formative growth. They bunk their schools and classes, if there is one that is, and roam around with containers on their heads when all that they should be having are pencils in their hands and smiles on their faces.
This is how the entire vicious cycle starts with poverty -> lack of basic resources -> no time to learn -> unemployment and ends in poverty again. Trapped in this fold, a child is not only robbed of his childhood but is also effectively pushed into an uncertain future.
This is how the entire vicious cycle starts with poverty -> lack of basic resources -> no time to learn -> unemployment and ends in poverty again. Trapped in this fold, a child is not only robbed of his childhood but is also effectively pushed into an uncertain future.
People in some regions are obligated to drink contaminated water from the same ponds and lakes that are being used by the animals and birds of the nearby forests and jungles. The epidemic of waterborne diseases are another curse of this crisis.
What the NGO’s are doing?
There are many NGO’s supporting this cause and one amongst them of which my mom is also a member is Narayan Seva Sansthan. Established in 1985, it is a non profit charitable organization rendering a heap of services for the needy, especially from the tribal belt. Amongst these services, is provision of water in the rural areas.
Here’s a look at the proposed solutions -
- Installation of hand pumps and digging bore wells at proper places.
- Researching more on water harvesting using various innovative techniques.
- Construction of ponds and installation of water harvesting systems with the help of panchayats and other administrative bodies.
- Collection of rain water that can prove to be of great respite to the natives when peak summer arrives before the monsoon.
They are trying to change the scenario. But change requires force and force requires people.
What can we do to reduce this crisis?
A lot! Remember that saying, where there is a will, there is a way? For starters, lets build ourselves through a strong resolve. A resolve of not wasting water.
What can we do to reduce this crisis?
A lot! Remember that saying, where there is a will, there is a way? For starters, lets build ourselves through a strong resolve. A resolve of not wasting water.
- Turn off those taps while not in use. Use the bathroom shower thoughtfully. Use the toilet flush only when necessary.
- Fix your leaky taps.
- Wash cars and bikes with a bucket of water and sponge instead of a hosepipe.
Remember, every drop counts. Who knows, the water you are saving today might be the source of life for someone tomorrow?
It’s true that the government and other administrative bodies need to do their part in implementing schemes and effecting solutions as well but let’s, for once, stop blaming them. Instead, let’s just be a little more sensitive and rational and pledge to start the change with ‘I’ this time.
IndiBlogger has come up with an initiative called - IndiChange, Harnessing the collective power of blogging to fight evil – where we can join hands and show that we care. A day will come, all things we collected and treasured will be lost and passed onto someone else. Everything will shrivel to irrelevance one day. It will not matter what you owned and what you didn’t. What will matter are our deeds. So why not start sharing whatever God has given to us with the rest of humankind. After all, water is not a need nor even a demand, it is a basic human right, just like air! And if we are having the access to this right to life.. why not the others?
Even today whenever I get a chance to visit my native village, I make it a point to drink some water from my grandpa's water cooler. There is something in that water. It gives me positive energy. It gives me the inspiration to do my duty towards the betterment of the society. It gives me, the strength to be the change...
I alone cannot change the world,
but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.
~Mother Teresa
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This entry is my effort to IndiBlogger's campaign - ISB iDiya for IndiChange - with http://www.isb.edu/idiya/ under the topic -
Blog about any social cause you are passionate about, and its potential
solution. If there are any inspiring people or organizations working
towards solving it, blog about them as well. INR 30000 goes towards an NGO of your choosing!
