Factors Responsible for water Scarcity in India

Factors Responsible for water scarcity in India

Water

• 96.5 per cent of the total volume of world's water is estimated to exist as oceans and only 2.5 per cent as freshwater. Nearly 70 per cent of this freshwater occurs as ice sheets and glaciers in Antarctica, Greenland and the mountainous regions of the world while a little less than 30 per cent is stored as groundwater in the world's aquifers.

•India receives nearly 4 per cent of the global precipitation and ranks 133 in the world in terms of water availability per person per annum.

•The total renewable water resources of India are estimated at 1,897 sq km per annum.

•By 2025, it is predicted that large parts of India will jain countries or regions having absolute water scarcity.

. Quantitative Aspects : ‘Shortage of water as compared to its demand is known as water scarcity.’

(i) Growing population : Growing population is one of the basic factors which is responsible for scarcity of water. Most of our cities are facing this problem due to over population. A large population means more water not only for domestic use but also to produce more food.

(ii) Commercialisation of agricultrure : After the success of Green revolution our farmers are producing commercial crops. The commercial crops need more water and other inputs. Assured means of irrigation like tubewells and wells are responsible for falling groundwater levels.

(iii) Variation in seasonal and annual precipitation : Precipitation is the main source of water in India but arrival and departure of monsoon in India is uncertain. Even the distribution of rainfall is uneven. Though the average precipitation in India as a whole is estimated at 117cm in a year yet it is less than 20 cm in the part of the Thar desert.

(iv) Industrialisation and urbanisation : Post independent India witnessed intensive industrialisation and urbanisation. Today, large industrial houses are common in the form of industrial units of many MNCs (Multinational Corporations). The ever increasing number of industries has made matters worse by exerting pressure on existing freshwater resources. Industries apart from being heavy users of water, also require power to run them. Much of this energy comes from hydroelectric power. Urbanisation has also aggrevated the problem of water scarcity. Most of our cities are over populated. Over population over utilize the water resources and also pollutes the existing resources.

2. Qualitative Aspects :
(i) Over utilisation and misuse of water :
There are many states in India which have over utilised its water resources like Punjab and Haryana. Due to this the water table in these states has lowered.

(ii) Pollution : Pollution of water resources is another factor which is responsible for water scarcity. Domestic waste and industrial waste are the main factors responsible for pollution of water.

You have realised that over exploitation, excessive use and unequal access to water among different regions are the major factors responsible for water scarcity. Over exploitation and mismanagement of water resources are causing ecological crisis. So the need of the hour is to conserve and manage the water resources.

(i) Water is necessary for life on earth. It is believed that life first originated in water before it invaded land. Water is in fact a pre-condition of life.

(ii) Cultivation of crops depends on the availability of water. Water dissolves minerals and other nutrients in the ground. The roots of the plants draw this nutritious water from the soil. India is an agricultural country so availability of water is a must.

(iii) Water is also important for the industries of India.

(iv) Water is also used for drinking and domestic consumption. The growing urbanisation with its modern lifestyle has been demanding greater share of water day by day.

(v) Conservation of water is also important to prevent degradation of our natural ecosystems.

But the question is how to conserve and manage water. Archaeological and historical records show that from ancient times, building dams and rainwater harvesting are the two methods which are under use since time immemorial ‘A dam is a barrier across the flowing water that obstructs, disects or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. But dams are now referred to as multipurpose projects where many uses of the impounded water are integrated with one another.

•Multipurpose River Project

A multipurpose project is that which fulfils a variety of purposes at the same time, for example irrigation, generation of electricity, flood control, fish breeding, soil conservation, etc.

Jawaharlal Nehru proudly proclaimed the dams as the ‘temples of modern India’; the reason being that it would integrate development of agriculture and the village economy with rapid industrialisation and growth of the urban economy.

Main Objectives :
(i) Generation of power (electricity) : These multipurpose projects are the main source of power generation. They contribute approximately 26% of the total electricity produced. They provide us neat, pollution free and cheapest energy which is the backbone of industry and agriculture.

(ii) Flood control : These projects control the floods because water can be stored in them. These projects have converted many ‘rivers of sorrows’ into rivers of boon. For example, river Kosi.

(iii) Soil conservation : These conserve the soil because they slow down the speed of water.

(iv) Irrigation : These projects are the main source of irrigation for our country. These irrigate the fields during the dry seasons. Many perennial canals have been dug and they irrigate dry areas.

(v) Afforestation : Trees are systematically planted in and around reservoirs. This helps in preserving wildlife and natural ecosystem.

(vi) Water Navigation : Multipurpose river valley projects often provide for inland water navigation through main rivers and canals. It is the cheapest means of transport for heavy goods.

(vii) Fisheries : These provide ideal condition for the breeding of fish. Chosen varieties of fish are allowed to grow. Such well developed fish farms can be the cheapest source of protein for our people.

(viii) Tourist centres : These projects are well cared and are scientifically developed. So these become the centres of tourist attraction.

In recent years multipurpose projects and large dams have come under great scrutiny, and opposition due to following reasons :

1. High cost : The initial cost of building the dams is very high. It requires a lot of capital and engineering skills along with modern machinery which is not available in India.

2. Adverse impact on environment : A vast variety of flora and fauna (plants and animals) as well as human settlements get submerged in the water of reservoir formed by the dam. They have been the cause of many social movements like ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’ and the ‘Tehri Dam Andolan’.

3. Adverse effect on the fertility of the soil : Due to construction of dams there are no annual floods in the river. And because of this the soil of the down stream region does not get nutrient rich “silt”. This decreases the fertility of the soil.

4. Adverse impact on aquatic life : Due to construction of dam on the river, the fish in the down stream area do not get sufficient nutrient material. Regulating and damming of rivers affect natural flow of water causing poor sediment flow downward and excessive sedimentation at the bottom of reservoir, resulting in rockier stream beds and poorer habitats for the rivers aquatic life. Dams also fragment rivers making it difficult for aquatic fauna to migrate for spawning i.e., to produce eggs.

5. Non-availability of water throughout the year  Most of the rivers in India flow only for few months. So water is not sufficient to build a dam.

6. Disputes between different states : This is one of the major causes of delay of many projects. States have dispute over sharing of water, height of the dam and so on.

7. Displacement of local communities : The building of large dams results in displacement of local communities. The local people often had to give up their land and livelihood and their meagre access and control over resources for the greater food of the nation.

8. Change in the cropping pattern : Multipurpose projects are responsible for providing assured means of irrigation to farmers. Due to this most of the farmers have changed the cropping pattern shifting to water intensive and commercial crops. This has led to salinisation of soil leading to ecological imbalance.

Most of the objectives to the projects arose due to their failure to achieve the purposes for which they were built. Ironically, the dams that were constructed to control floods have triggered floods due to sedimentation in the reservoir. Moreover, the big dams have mostly been unsuccessful in controlling floods at the time of excessive rainfall.

•Rain Water Harvesting

Many thought that given the disadvantages and rising resistance against the multipurpose projects, water harvesting system was a viable alternative, both socio-economically and environmentally. In ancient India, along with the sophisticated hydraulic structures, there existed an extraordinary tradition of water-harvesting system.

“It is a technique of increasing the recharge of ground water by capturing and storing rainwater by constructing structures such as percolating pits, check dams etc.”

People have been using water harvesting methods since times immemorial. People had an indepth knowledge of rainfall regimes and soil types, and developed wide ranging techniques to harvest rainwater, groundwater, river water and flood water keeping with the local ecological conditions and their water needs. Different regions had developed different techniques to conserve water :

- People of mountainous regions had built diversion channels like the ‘guls’ and ‘kuls’ for agriculture.
- People living in arid regions like Rajasthan, used Rooftop rainwater harvesting techniques to store drinking water.
- In the flood plain areas, inundation channels were used to irrigate the fields by the people.
- The agricultural fields were also converted into rain fed storage structures that allowed the water to stagnant and moisten the soil like the ‘khadins’ in Jaisalmer and Johads in other parts of Rajasthan.

Importance of rainwater harvesting :
- It is a reliable source of water when all other sources of water dry up.
- It is considered as the pure form of natural water.
- It is also given to sick people.
- It can be used to beat the summer heat if underground rooms adjoining the tanks are built.

Today, in most of arid and semi-arid regions of India, the practice of rooftop rainwater harvesting is on the decline as plenty of water is available due to the perennial canals. There are only few houses which still maintain the tankas since they do not like the taste of tap water. Fortunately, there are some parts of India where rooftop rainwater harvesting is being successfully adapted to store and conserve water.

Tamil Nadu is the first state in India which has made roof top rainwater harvesting structure compulsory to all the houses across the state. There are legal provisions to punish the defaulters.

In Gendathur, a remote backward village in Mysore, Karnataka, villagers have installed in their households rooftop rainwater harvesting system to meet their growing water needs. Nearly 200 households have installed this system and the village has earned the rare distinction of being rich in rainwater. Gendathur receives an annual precipitation of 1,000 mm with 80 per cent of collection efficiency. Every house can collect and use about 50,000 litres of water annually.