Vanishing aquifers

It is no surprise that India faces a severe water crisis in summer (“

>Hotter, longer deadlier summers ”, April 21). After Independence, we have focussed only on the construction of large dams and canals which do not seem to be of much help. Added to this is the politically sanctioned free power sop which has only led to reckless exploitation of groundwater. A regulatory mechanism with decentralised watershed management, implementation of an agro-climatic model and local community participation are some solutions.

Swagat Rajkumar Patil,

Sangli, Maharashtra

In his book,

Water Wars: Is the World’s Water Running Out? , Marq de Villiers memorably says, “Millions have lived without love. No one has lived without water.” The importance of water in our country, with agriculture as its economic mainstay, cannot be overemphasised. Parched lands, dried-up waterbodies, water trains and women in the droves trekking to fetch water paint a grim picture of a severe drought. While unsustainable development, dubious projects, loss of wetlands, failure to harvest and store rainwater, wrong choice of crops coupled with “water-hungry” lifestyles are among the causes, the description of it “being an act of god” makes no sense. The priority has to be to give potable water to water-stressed communities since the water collected by them is often contaminated.

G. David Milton,

Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

It is estimated that India possesses about 432 billion cubic metres of groundwater which is replenished yearly from rain and river drainage, of which only 395 bcm can be utilised. Of this figure, about 82 per cent goes to irrigation and agriculture with the remainder divided between domestic and industrial use. The total static groundwater available is approximately 10,812 bcm. Now, groundwater is increasingly being pumped from lower and lower levels and much faster than rainfall can replenish it. Another danger is that human, agricultural and industrial waste is polluting our rivers. The takeaway is that Indian law has virtually no legislation on groundwater use. Anyone can extract water and there is no incentive to conserve or recycle it.

Vandana John Carlo,

Manila, Philippines

In India, the monsoon is a brief deluge and it is estimated that we get about 100 hours of rain in a year. It is this bounty that must be caught, stored, and used over the 8,760 hours that make up a year. Why is Cherrapunji today short of drinking water when it gets more than 11 m of rainfall annually? Simply because it does not capture the rain that falls over it. India’s overall water availability is running dry and its growing water crisis can be attributed to scant government planning, not treating industrial and human waste and a lack of foresight. It is said that global water scarcity is expected to become a leading cause of national political conflict and the prognosis for India is no different. Therefore, with no rain catchment programme in place, most of the water ends up being wasted. In these areas, rain harvesting must be made mandatory.

Sadiq Ali Khan Tanoli,

Shillong, Meghalaya