Despite being endowed with good monsoon, rivers and other water resources, India has always struggled with management of water and shortage of water has seen ugly fights among the states. The situation has been so alarming that there have been protest, demonstrations, road blockades, people against people, and citizens against the government.
The bitter fight for water is a never ending saga and if the government does not seriously consider ways to mitigate the problem, it will soon become a national headache.
Traditionally, water was a responsibility of citizens. Communities took collective responsibility of not only building but also of maintaining the water bodies.
However with independence, the government has taken control over the water-bodies and water supply. Citizens have used to getting water at the turn of the tap and are no longer interested in maintaining water bodies. This has with time led to the neglect of the water bodies and catchments areas.
Every urban patch today is struggling for water. The water bodies are too polluted to be of any use. Water treatment plants are taking time for want of resources and political and bureaucratic hassles.
The situation is so bad that citizens have gone to court demanding halt this degradation of urban water bodies.
In rural areas too, people still battle for clean water. Though the tapped water has brought in lot of relief for the citizens in rural areas, lot remains to be done.
Even in Itanagar, which has river flowing next to the town, except in very few pockets, it’s a huge relief if people get water for two hours in a day.
Now, endowed with monsoon, people need to be educated on rain water conservations. Sensitization is the need of the hour. And a step must be taken in this regards by the government and civil societies movement.