I’m a middle-class man living in Vidarbha, a small region in the eastern part of Maharashtra. While we as a region aren’t in the news a lot, since nothing of high and immediate importance particularly happens here, we were in the news recently — unfortunately, for all the wrong reasons. The name Vidarbha was in the list of regions that are facing the short end of the water crisis that has suddenly hit India hard, or more truly, been in the limelight in the recent past.
But let me tell you, it has been difficult for us to curb this crisis and work our way through a normal, everyday life with meagre to no access to clean drinking water, and at times water shortage for even our daily ablutions. It might not seem anything to people who haven’t gone through it themselves, and I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy, but I do urge you. Wake up. We are in this together. If we aren’t aware enough, and if we don’t act now, this wont be a problem for just a few regions and states. Soon it will be all of us. And there would be no going back.
It isn’t that difficult to register, is it? We are already the world’s second-largest population, and it is increasing by the second, which means the demand is increasing by the second. And the supply? We have had two consecutive years of weak monsoons which led to a major decrease in the natural water reservoirs providing regions with water. On the other hand, even if we might have taken steps to reserve and preserve the amount of water we got, we might have been well off to an extent. But no, even the management of the meagre yet available water resources are in dire straits. There is no respite from either end. What are we supposed to do?
If you are someone who is just learning about this, know this. I’m speaking up only because I’ve seen the horrors of this crisis. Along with the 75 per cent Indian households which don’t have access to clean drinking water, along with the 84 per cent rural households that do not have pipelines laid out for them for clean water. These numbers range in hundreds of millions of people. I am just one of them. And I urge you to do something about it. If not for the ones already suffering, do it for yourselves because soon, you will be one of us.
Do your bit, even if it doesn’t seem much. Many NGOs, celebrities, responsible citizens have woken up to this cause already. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken about it. The Harpic-News18 Mission Paani is underway to create awareness about this very cause. International summits are being held to find solutions to the water crisis. What are you doing?
Wake up and feel the drought. Start acting today, tomorrow will be too late!
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