Drinking Water

 How will Mankind Ever Survive Without Drinking Water

June 23, 2022Riddhika Chakrabarti

Water scarcity in the country

Have you ever thought that how will mankind ever survive without water? India, the country which known for its hundreds of rivers. Rivers that include Ganga, Godavari, Krishna, Yamuna, Narmada, and Indus where fresh water used to flow so abundantly, now faces the huge and crippling challenge of water scarcity. 16% of the world’s population is taken up by India, but India holds only 4% of the world’s freshwater resources, and lately even that 4% is under immense pressure. Reports from the Central Ground Water Board have stated that many districts in India have already reported overused or over exploited ground water levels, which has led to severe issues with water in their day-to-day lives and commercial uses too.

What are the reasons for water scarcity?

Water has been a scarce resource in India for quite a few years due to extreme over usage and exploitation. That’s a fact. What is a loophole that India has which further adds to this scarcity? The answer is inequality. Distribution of water and hygiene have always been unequal amongst the many other things. People who are better off, like people in urban areas, have better access to water for day-to-day use. It is a sad fact that the issue of inequality in India is so strong that it even tampers with the distribution of basic resources that have kept the human race alive for all these years.

Change in the usage of water resources

There are many reasons which lead to this situation of extreme water scarcity. One of the very prominent reasons being the change in how water is used now in comparison to how it was used a few years back. India has made remarkable economic growth in the past few decades but that has clearly come at the brunt of water scarcity which is too big a price to pay. There has been immense pressure on water usage due to rapid industrialization and urbanization. Due to economic the lifestyles of people have also changed starting from food consumptions, patterns in the usage of land, lifestyle etc. Due to the rapid change in the country’s development and population which is increasing manifold, the water resources are not keeping up with that. India has abundant ground water resources but in states like Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh those ground water resources have been used to such an extent that they are scarce now as well.

How water scarcity causes severe hardships? And way forward

It might be hard to believe, but this water scarcity directly affects the lives of more people than we’d think. Let’s take the instance of the women in villages. Since ages unknown, the job of fetching water has been a women’s-oriented job, but as ponds, wells, and tanks dry up, this job becomes more and more of a challenge to them. They now have to walk much longer distances just to fetch water for their day-to-day usage. In a country like India, with a huge population, the crisis of drinking water is scarier. However, finding a solution is not impossible yet. We can fight the problem of water scarcity only if we as citizens, come together and find ways to save water and use it judiciously. The humans do not have any other option left with, because in the end, how will mankind ever survive without its most important resource?

Riddhika Chakrabarti