Water – Source of Life
Introduction: Water is one of the basic necessities of life. We require plenty of water every day for drinking, cooking and washing. It is necessary also for cleanliness of homes and hospitals.
Sources of drinking water: The chief sources of potable water are the surface water and ground water.
The ground water is drawn by deep tube-wells and water pumps. Water is supplied to the consumers through roadside taps and house connections. In rural areas, the supply of drinking water is hopelessly inadequate.
Causes for water crisis: India has built mega dams for irrigation, but her water management system has not received due attention. We are told that water crisis has touched millions people across several states.
The over-use of groundwater has pushed down the water level far deeper below. Arsenic contaminated water made the problem more grave.
Remedy: During the monsoon, many areas of India are flooded, causing widespread damage to life and property and this enormous quantity of water is allowed to flow down into the sea. Rain water harvesting can help in preservation of rain water, which can be used later for several purposes.
If the rain water is harvested and preserved in tanks and reservoir regularly, it may help us to tide over the water crisis. In urban areas, water harvesting should be mandatory. Fortunately, in some states, arrangements are afoot to harvest every-drop of rainwater.
