Summer is just setting in, we are still in the month of March, but reports of water shortages are already trickling in and can be expected to increase in frequency in the weeks to come. Take Satari taluka for instance, where the problem has manifested in two different villages. The village of Zarme, where problem of water shortages is perennial and the village remained without water for a week, forcing the women from the village to march to the water supply office and demand water. It was a similar situation in the village of Dhave whose villagers also reached the water supply office in Valpoi to complain of acute water shortages, threatening a sit in protest if the problem is not solved.
While Goa is beginning to feel the brunt of the summer hear and the first of the annual seasonal water shortages, World Water Day last week passed off almost unnoticed in the State, except for some Peta activists who dressed up in blue paint and encouraged people in Panjim to save water and go vegan. They drew some attention for their stunt, as they stood by the roadside with placards, but there is no yardstick that can measure whether an impact was created.
While the world focused on the theme ‘Nature for Water’ on World Water Day and looked at exploring nature-based solutions to the water challenges that could be faced in the current century itself, here in Goa, there was little interest shown in the day or the theme, though water is quite an issue in the State, and not just because of the Mhadei water diversion proposal. Complaints of water shortages have There are already
Goa, with abundant water resources, may appear to be in an enviable position, when compared to some other areas of the country where water shortages force people to walk miles to fetch just a pot of water. While Rajasthan and Gujarat easily come to mind when water shortages are spoken of, urban areas across the country are beginning to face a water crisis, Bengaluru the most affected from among them.
Cape Town in South Africa has been going through a massive water crisis, and was expected to go dry sometime in the coming month. As the crisis deepened, the city introduced some life-altering emergency water restrictions, that have ensured that it may avoid Day Zero this year, but this depends entirely on nature – on the winter rainfall it will receive.
While in the past few weeks the world kept the focus on Cape Town’s crisis, Bengaluru is among the 10 cities worldwide that could be hurtling towards Day Zero, the day when taps will run dry, though its crisis will not be as imminent as Cape Town. The main reason for Bengaluru’s crisis is the depleting water table that has resulted from unplanned development. Ironically, Bengaluru is known as the lake city, having been built around a number of lakes, many of which have now dried up and in their place have come up concrete structures. In the years to come this could well be the case of Goa, if concrete development on land is not planned properly.
The monsoon will break over the State in about two months from now. But we are still not water wise and tuned in to the fact that rainwater harvesting needs to be promoted in Goa. Efforts have been made, but they have been sporadic and with little vigour. Public attention has to be focused on critical issues of saving water, especially since though the Earth is three-fourths water, just about two per cent of it is usable, which makes recycling water imperative.
