Water crisis.

Cape Town, South Africa is in news for its severe water shortage.

The reports says that water is being rationed to people in Cape Town. In January,2018  the public was told to limit it to 50 litres per person daily   .By the time, the taps run dry ,most probably in July, 2018, there will be just 25 litres of water for each,  per day. 25 litres of water is used  in showering in just four minutes. In other words, showering is a colossal waste of water. It can even be said to be sinful.Showering needs to be    punishable  if water continues to be in short supply.Not just Cape Town, even other places in the world will face water shortages sooner than later.

The reasons for this water crisis in Cape Town  are rapid rise in population, severe drought for three years & climate change. And people seem to think that since they pay taxes , they can do as they please.In other words, consume as much water as is needed. It is  illegal to use water for washing cars, filling pools & water gardens,And yet, if this continues, there will be strife. Patrols are guarding against theft of water. The situation may go from bad to worse as day zero dawns which is going to be in mid July.

Earlier to Cape Town, Sao Poulo had faced severe water shortage in 2015.Jakarta in Indonesia, Melbourne in Australia & Mexico city in Mexico are going the way, Cape Town  is going. How soon , is just a matter of time.And as its been predicted, the next world war will be a fight for water.

Nearer home, India has had water crisis year after year. Because, Indians are yet  to learn to use water  without wasting. Moreover, farming is totally dependent on monsoons. Either the monsoons fail and or they bring floods. Either ways, it is a crisis or rather multiple crisis.The  interlinking of rivers in India was supposed to connect water deficient regions with water surplus regions. Due to many reasons , it has yet to see the light of the day. Many argue, that connecting rivers to solve water problems is not the way .Rivers are ecosystems not channels of water  & that's why , simply channeling all rivers does not solve water shortage/ s . In fact,  many people will get displaced & lots of other issues may arise, which may, pose new threats instead of resolving any problems.

People living in Bangalore, may have to leave it for good by 2023 .This is because, there is shortage of water & water contamination. Bangalore was a city of lakes.In fact, there were nearly a thousand lakes. Presently , less than  200 are left. On most of the lakes, there have been constructions. Sewage water is all mixed up with potable water. Ground water is falling because there are too may bore wells.

Soon, Bangaloreans will have to bathe in the foaming waters of the lakes .Even car washing, washing of clothes as also vessels will have to be done in the frothy lake waters.This will help them save expenses on soap as also detergents  .And all this bathing &  washing together enmasse will
help bonding among Bangaloreans who are a mix of Tamilians & Kannadigas & others. Who knows -  this bonding may help Tamil Nadu & Karnataka reach consensus on sharing waters of the Cauvery .And for those, who are lazy, to go up to the foaming lakes for a dip, no worries. The foam is spilling on to the roads. One need not lament ...there are always positives to look forward to.... so what, if there is no water & the foam is toxic. Soaps & detergents contain chemicals which are poisonous .

Sooner than later, other Indian cities will follow Bangalore because , in each city, town & village, Indian s continue to waste water as if it is an  abundant resource. In many cities & towns, water flows in taps for restricted times.Yet, we are none the wiser.

What is the way out or rather how can water scarcity be overcome ? Cape town has a population of nearly one crore. Bangalore has a population of 1.23 crores.So , population stabilization is a point which India needs to vigorously pursue. Not only will it ease the pressure on our water woes, populations stability will ensure that there is enough of everything...food, clothing, education, health,etc. for all.

Secondly, lets learn to recycle & reuse water. Water used for washing food stuff like grains, vegetables, fruits etc can be used for toilets & to water plants , run the air conditioners, etal. Even in farms, water can be recycled & reused. Instead of showers, use the bucket to bathe or else sponge bath will be the only option left. And no washing of vehicles.Lets start self rationing water so that water will be there for use by all.

Thirdly, invest in rain water harvesting so that rain water can be stored for  use.And this needs to  be done in rural as also urban areas. Water is a resource ,which is needed by all.

Fourthly , plant more trees as more green cover means they will help bring rainfall to drought stricken regions.

Next, embrace green initiatives like using solar power .Environment friendly techniques will aid in making our earth greener & cooler .And water needed to produce solar power is a quarter of water needed to produce power from coal.

And lastly, as we all set about to conserve, reuse & recycle  water, we will come across better solutions to the problems of water scarcity.After all, human ingenuity is infinite ! 

Water woes.

This year, has witnessed a dismal state of monsoons all over India except certain states  like Assam,West Bengal  which has seen floods.In Mumbai ,it rained well the first time. And then ,the showers went on an increasingly decreasing trend.This has persisted & even on  Janmastami,there were no rains. Yet ,even if it rains heavily in days to come,they  cannot make up for so much of rains which never happened this season so far ! So, it was inevitable, that the Municipality would begin decreasing supply of water .It did .And yet, in the society of residence ,it didn't trickle a bit...the news about the water cut, that is.

Deficient rains will lead to rising prices leading to inflation.Rising onion prices are flooding tears in eyes & yet, these tears cannot make up for the water shortage !

Then  two days later, water stopped, bang at 7.30 am in the morning.All hell broke loose ! Cars were ordered to be  wiped with wet cloth & not washed daily.This invited angry retorts ! The idea is to  travel scented & booted in washed cars.Scented because after washing cars ,there will be no water left to take bath ,sorry baths !

And one lady ,when told that water has gone off ,demanded to know if information was available to others beforehand except her.This was so, that she could pick up yet another fight with society & others.The fact ,that she is forever out of the flat & the society never crosses her minds.Her demand is that sms alerts be given regarding water shortage, lift breakdown & the like.The next society meeting is supposedly being called to discuss sms & other alerts ! Some have already started developing an app to cater to all this, especially water cuts.This is going to be the demand as water shortage has become a pan Indian problem this year !

A circular was put up that due to BMC supplying lesser water than before, BMC water will available only for certain hours.This led some to suspect if all buildings of society would get water during those few hours or if partiality was being done ! Because , society allegedly favored some people & obviously some flats. Murmurs were raised about how insufficient the hours of water supply were & how it was mis planned & so on & so forth  ! Anyway, the next day, being a Saturday, water supply stopped at the designated hour.Some drivers addicted to washed cars  were arguing with the security personnel that water be allowed for washing cars.Some told security that water was being given from the owners' flat & not from common society facility.The security guard quipped ," It is the same water in the flat  as also in the common facility."

And residents have been told to close all taps lest an open tap or taps lead to water being wasted when it is in such short supply.Very soon ,CCTV cameras will be installed atop all water taps.Privacy be damned as cameras will stare & record water wasted on shitting in ,peeing in & the like ! This could lead to constipation & maybe piles ! And the solution is to drink more water ! And, yet water is in short supply.What a vicious circle, this has become !

Instructions are being given on how bathrooms need not be washed on daily basis .Yet die hard cleanliness freaks believe that bathrooms need to be sterlised by washing with water, detergents, floor cleaners, acid ,bleaching agents etal.They seem to forget that more the usage of these cleansers, more the need for water .Obviously environmental degradation follows which makes the bad , worse.

A majority of the people in the buildings of the society seem to believe,that expansion & extension of bathrooms is one of the solutions to water shortage. And hence, all concrete work is being done despite  water scarcity. After all , when bathrooms are growing  big, who is afraid of small problems like water shortage etal ? They seem to think  that water will continue to remain in plenty no matter how much we waste  it What many seem to forget, is that water is an essential source. And till another planet /s which has water is discovered, we all have to live with this water scarcity as we themselves are responsible for this sorry state of affairs.