Harnessing water Pak dug its own pit
“Water, water everywhere/Nor any drop to drink.” So said Samuel Coleridge in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. I write it in response to the editorial, “Water: Missing the real point” (September 28). All the measures thought of are either implemented halfheartedly or not at all.
At the individual level, only a financial cost might prevent wastage. If people can pay for bottled drinking water, then it is time to charge them for state-supplied water, too, say, at the rate of ~1 per 100 litres.
Next, we need to address the lack of storage capacity. Considering that floods take place in some part of the country or the other during any year, there should really be no shortage of water if all of it could be stored somewhere. The problem is funding the projects. Levy a water cess on sugar mills so that it costs ~200 a kg. Remove sugar from the Public Distribution System. Two kilos of sugar consume 3,000 litres of water — an individual’s monthly water requirement. Let him choose: water or sugar.
Even people’s health will improve. Just as steam was the source of power in the 19th century and oil in the 20th, water will take that position in the 21st century.
It is time we formulated a water strategy on a war footing. We need a director general of water and food security — drawn from the armed forces — with retired armed forces personnel mobilised to create and augment water storage capacities and implement wastage prevention methods. Most of our water resources are in inhospitable terrain; only armed forces personnel will know how to operate there.
T R Ramaswami Mumbai and other purposes is becoming acute. Disputes over water sharing within the country is fomenting hatred among people of different states and worsening the law and order situation. Such situations arising due to scarcity of water are harmful to the federal and democratic set-up of the country.
The government must look at radical policies and regulations to control wastage as well as ensure judicious use of water. Conventional methods of cultivation need to be replaced with modern techniques, and timing of farming activities synchronised with the duration of the monsoon to take advantage of the rains.
Despite the need for harvesting rainwater, people don’t take advantage of it. Awareness programmes are needed to instill the importance of preserving water and avoiding wastage. Regulations must be strengthened to punish those who waste and pollute water resources.
V S K Pillai Changanacherry India’s refusal to attend the SAARC summit, scheduled to be held in Islamabad in November, could spell the death knell for the regional bloc which has already outlived its utility. With Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan also skipping the summit, the number of countries staying away in the eight-member bloc is four; this puts Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives in a difficult situation.
While Afghanistan is furious at crossborder attacks against its army by people allegedly from Pakistan, Bangladesh is upset with Pakistani support to radical elements in that country.
It is apparent the present scenario is Pakistan’s own making. Unless it mends its ways it will soon find itself isolated.
N J Ravi Chander Bengaluru