Lukhinder Singh
Few days back, I was coming back from Jammu to Hiranagar. It was scorching heat and to quench my thirst, I got a bisllery bottle at Rs. 20. It may be common for number of people, but it was a very sad moment for me, as its one sip reminded me of a number of people who cannot afford even this bottle in sizzling atmosphere and on the another hand the colossal wastage of ground water and natural water bodies in tarai region. Lower belt area right from Akhnoor to Lakhanpur is known as the tarai region. What is tarai region? It means foot hill or meaning the low-lying land, plain, especially the low lying land at the foot hill of the Himalayas. This region has plenty of natural water bodies and hidden treasure in the form of ground water which our mother earth has stashed in its womb for the last million of years.
About 50 years back surface water was the prime source to meet the daily requirements of water and ground water was reserved as valuable treasure for odd days. Judicious use of this exhaustible renewable resource is our prime duty. Only signing boards, big hoardings, advertisements of ministers, PHE and ground water agencies depicting the wastage of water, have least impact on public. Its sheer wastage of money. Action is louder than words. Unless our plans turn into action, we can little expect from them. PHE is the main agency which deals with water and its related issues but it has number of sub- division like civil, mechanical, hydraulic, ground water, drilling etc. These agencies are interlinked with each other and have made the system for a layman very complex. In spite of number of agencies in existence not even a single agency is ready to take the responsibility for huge wastage of water in tarai region.
Alone in Hiranagar town we have eight tube wells and twelve automatic artesian wells which are continuously draining out water. Sources says that out of eight tube wells, one at Ward No. 3, is filtration plant cum spring source which is lying defunct for the last several years in spite of investing lacs of rupees on its installation and renovation and still efforts are on to renovate it, one at Ward No. 4, is dug well is also defunct and another one at Ward No. 6, is out of order. Out of twelve automatic artesian wells which are continuously draining out millions of gallons of water, two have dried up as the water table has plummeted for the last few years. There is neither any provision to store water flowing through these wells nor there is any check on their mushroom installations. This is just a small section depicting big wastage of water in Hiranagar town which is otherwise going on at an alarming rate in lower belt of whole Hiranagar tehsil and other areas.
Not only the ground reserves but our natural water bodies, ponds and bowlies also narrate the same story. Least attention is paid on the renovation of ponds and bowlies. There is no provision to tap surface water coming from natural water bodies. Little check on the illegal mining by stone crushers and unlimited stone quarrying activities is giving another jolt to save ground water and water bodies. Check dams are constructed on wadis which is least feasible due to scanty rainfall and very dry kandi area. There is possibility of small check dams in the lower tarai region with least investment as compared to huge dams. This will mitigate the problem of electricity of local area. Tourism will develop. Fish culture can provide work to a number of unemployed youth. No doubt Government has taken initiative on the construction of check dams at Khokhiyal, Pranjli Jakh and Gadiyal in district Kathua but not even a single is successful story. All projects are lurching in the air.
Whom to make answerable for it, is a million dollar question. By just blaming each other, we cannot shed off our responsibilities. It is well said that every body’s responsibility is no body’s responsibility. Nature is well versed with natural reserves whose quantity varies from region to region. It is seen that for the last few years installations of unplanned artesian wells in this tarai region has made this area endanger zone. At this moment, its repercussions may not be visible as it should be, but who have fine scientific temperament and observation can judge sudden catastrophe in the coming years. At about twenty to twenty five years back during rainy season water table was too high and one could draw bucket of water from wells without using supporting rope. But now hand pumps are drying due to excessive discharge of water. Its replenishment is not taking place at the speed with which it should occur.
It is well known to all of us that water covers 71% of the earth’s surface and is vital for all known forms of life. On Earth, 96.5% of the planet’s water is found in seas and oceans, 1.7% is groundwater, 1.7% in glaciers and the ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland, a small fraction in other large water bodies, and 0.001% in the air as vapor and clouds.
There is just 1.7% groundwater which is also not evenly distributed. Depth of water table varies from region to region. Ground water is our natural reserve and its enormous wastage is intolerable at any time in any area. Due to this excessive misuse of water, the water table is going down silently and the Government is still in slumber. Organizations like Communication and Capacity Development Unit (CCDU), Water and Sanitation Support Organization (WSSO), Department of PHE, Ground Water and Drilling Division, PHE, central ground water board etc are paying no attention towards the wastage of water through artesian wells and water bodies and behaving like mute spectator.
Wastage at one place and cry for water at another place cannot be justified at any cost. Agencies must come forward to ensure equitable supply of water to every family. With the efforts of social activist Anna Hazare, village Rallegan Siddhi narrates a very successful story of water management. We should learn from that, how a person can manage little available resources. The growing population is putting tremendous pressure on the available resources. The demand will continue to grow. Villages in India are facing the problem of scarcity of drinking water due to depleted groundwater resource. Punjab is our nearby state where water has gone too deep. Supply by water tankers and fight over it in villages and cities is a common sight now. If the trend continues in future, scientists say by 2030 half of demand of water in India will not be fulfilled. Indiscriminate use of environment resources is no solution to the problem but there must be sustainable use of it, watershed development and water management is the right approach in that so that our coming generations has something to transmit to their next generations.
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