prasad1
Active member
India is facing a water emergency of unprecedented proportions.
Cities are facing an acute shortage of water and in smaller towns tankers are lining up to provide water.
The situation is much worse in the villages, where more and more people migrate to the cities in search of water.
"In Nagpur, today, we have Veolia India, a French company, that is providing water... Veolia India now wants to supply water in 18 cities of India. Soon, they will capture the country's water," Magsaysay Award winner Rajendra Singh, below, tells Rediff.com.
Why is there no permanent solution for a serious issue like water scarcity? Where did we go wrong?
Take any political party's manifesto and you will find that they don't talk about water.
The tears in their eyes have dried up and the only time they speak about water is when they want to privatise water.
One party in its manifesto says it will provide tap water to every citizens's home.
But how it is possible?
There is no water left.
In this crisis, how can you make such promises of jal-nal (water in taps)?
This jal-nal is only for private companies.
What did earlier governments do to solve the water problem?
When water was priority, past governments built large dams.
Take Maharashtra, where there are 42 large dams. The vision of the state's leaders was to grow sugarcane and make money.
Agriculture was industrialised in Maharashtra.
Agriculture became an agribusiness.
Today, in Maharashtra, to do sugarcane farming 84 per cent of the water is being taken out from the ground.
Is there anything more dangerous than this?
Politicians of our country don't have any vision for water.
The only vision they have is how to get votes in the name of water.
The politicians only think of solving the water issue through private contractors.
These private contractors can never find a solution to the water problem.
It is only a community that can solve the water problem.
But when people don't get involved as a community to solve a problem, then it will never be solved.
Cities are facing an acute shortage of water and in smaller towns tankers are lining up to provide water.
The situation is much worse in the villages, where more and more people migrate to the cities in search of water.
"In Nagpur, today, we have Veolia India, a French company, that is providing water... Veolia India now wants to supply water in 18 cities of India. Soon, they will capture the country's water," Magsaysay Award winner Rajendra Singh, below, tells Rediff.com.
Why is there no permanent solution for a serious issue like water scarcity? Where did we go wrong?
Take any political party's manifesto and you will find that they don't talk about water.
The tears in their eyes have dried up and the only time they speak about water is when they want to privatise water.
One party in its manifesto says it will provide tap water to every citizens's home.
But how it is possible?
There is no water left.
In this crisis, how can you make such promises of jal-nal (water in taps)?
This jal-nal is only for private companies.
What did earlier governments do to solve the water problem?
When water was priority, past governments built large dams.
Take Maharashtra, where there are 42 large dams. The vision of the state's leaders was to grow sugarcane and make money.
Agriculture was industrialised in Maharashtra.
Agriculture became an agribusiness.
Today, in Maharashtra, to do sugarcane farming 84 per cent of the water is being taken out from the ground.
Is there anything more dangerous than this?
Politicians of our country don't have any vision for water.
The only vision they have is how to get votes in the name of water.
The politicians only think of solving the water issue through private contractors.
These private contractors can never find a solution to the water problem.
It is only a community that can solve the water problem.
But when people don't get involved as a community to solve a problem, then it will never be solved.
'21 Indian cities will have zero tap water'
'If the government does not take any action soon, 21 cities of India will become like Cape Town, with no water.' 'Four cities -- Delhi, Gurgaon, Meerut and Faridabad -- will suffer the worst.'
www.rediff.com
