Water crisis amid corona
India, the country of rivers, is struggling for water, and that during coronavirus outbreak when over 1.30 billion people in the country need safe water to wash hands, body and things regularly in order to keep hygiene. It’s an irony that a number of regions are struggling with flood; other regions are looking at drought. Both in flood areas and drought regions, people are facing even drinking water crunch. And that at the time when safe water is the most important weapon to battle Covid 19 outbreak.
India faces flood and drought situations simultaneously
Nearly 600 million people in the country have no access to safe water that supposed is to play most prominent role in the battle with coronavirus pandemic, say experts. A number of most ancient cities of the country are situated on the bank of a river or sea. That’s why these cities are very much prone to flooding in monsoons. However, from agriculture to life, major water resources in most of the regions depend on rainfall.
That’s why people in rain deficient regions are seeing drought and immense water crisis. Monsoon would be normal this year, meteorological department had said before the monsoon knocked the doors. But nobody had a clue of so scattered monsoon with half of a region receiving above average rainfall, and other half getting below average rains.
The average rainfall is considered as a normal monsoon. But scattered in inconsistent patterns, the rains made the lives tougher in the country. Floods and droughts are not new for Indian people but in the coronavirus pandemic times, these are even bigger challenges. How can you think of carrying on battle against the virus without your best weapon i.e. water?
Water crisis amid corona affects containment measure
Water is always an essential, and we cannot do without it. But during the Covid 19 pandemic, its uses has increased as we need it time and again in a day for washing hands, bathing and cleaning things. Everyone of us needs more water for keeping hygiene and staying safe from coronavirus. However, what about those people who are living either in the regions drown with water or in the areas having no access to water!
Think about a number of regions in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhandand Assam, where flood has taken dangerous shape due to far above average rainfall. Houses are drowning in affected areas. Families along with children have to stay in roadside tents or temporary shelters if they are lucky to have. Water is in excess but not safe and what about drinking water, you can imagine.
Further, many districts in the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir have reported far less than the par rains. In many regions where they have little to no water, keeping hygiene may be a luxury for these people. Women and children have to walk miles or take trains to fetch drinking water for the family from far-flung areas.
Groundwater depletion situation in various regions
India is the largest groundwater user in world, with nearly 60% of its districts over exploited their groundwater so far. In the last 40 years, groundwater contributed over three-fourth of the total irrigation in the country’s agricultural sector, say officials.
Tensions between people turned violent in several parts of the country. Neighbors could not tolerate each other due to the groundwater depletion in their areas. Offices, schools, colleges and markets had to be shut down many times due to water shortages. Water related crimes, like physical assault,have seen a sharp rise over the years in the country.
Metropolitan city in southern India Chennai has seen zero day (no water day) after major depletion of groundwater. However, the largest groundwater exploitation in the country emerged in North India. Here, water is being tapped out 70% faster than earlier estimations, say scientists. According to studies, national capital Delhi is now the epicenter of global groundwater crisis.
Though the researchers could not find out how much groundwater storage still remains in the region yet they expressed seriousness of the situation. We have been heading towards immense water crisis for decades now. Many times it was referred as water is likely to be the reason for the next world war. Now, coronavirus pandemic, along with flood and drought situations in the country, has made the situation grimmer and needing government’s attention at the soonest.
