Water: Key to Our Existence

"Nadiyon main bahe jaldhara yeh hai sankalp hamara." This was the theme for the 2004-05 special camping program of the National Service Scheme (NSS) to inculcate among the thousands of student volunteers of the NSS the need to conserve as well as efficiently utilize the prime resource of the nature - water. The universal solvent and a must need of every living organism ranging from the giant whale to a tiny and minute organism like bacteria. Water is indeed a need of every organism. Water - is a life carrier - it is itself alive and needs to be kept in this condition if it is to continue to fulfill its naturally ordained function.

Water constitutes nearly 75% of the total human body. Each and every organ of our body require water which is clean and at optimum rate so as to function well according to its assigned function. But the modern life has cause an impediment to the smooth functioning of the naturally ordained life giving task of water. We come across. It any where and everywhere and it is truly a key to the existence of man and all other creatures of this plane. Water is the most essential ingredient of life . It provides all life - whether plant, animal and human, with the essential energies of life. Water absorbs vigor. Water emits all energy and most interestingly lug all energy.

Drinking water facilities to rural people of the country is provided under the state sector program. The central government endeavors to supplement this effort of the state by providing assistance to them from time to time under the different centrally or internationally sponsored scheme. Government follows the strategy to achieve its objective of providing safe drinking water to all the people residing in the 6 lakh villages of this country:

- Accelerate the coverage in not covered or partially covered habitations.
- Institutionalizing the whole system of quality control, monitoring and surveillance system.
- Initiative in this regards have been made by Ministry of Environment and forest in June 2001 by constituting the water quality assessment authority (WQAA).

The reform initiative in form of swajaldhara under which sixty seven districts are to covered under a pilot project on rural water supply have been in the forefront. Government have revamped the rural water supply program which inter alia envisaged institutionalizing the rural water supply, in which the government will take the role of facilitator rather then direct service provider.

WATER - The most precious asset of any nation

- The basic human need - one of the most important natural resources.
- Therefore efficient utilization as well optimum development of this prime resource of nature is of much importance.
- The blue planet in which we reside is known by this name because of the existence of this valuable asset. This planet is unique from its other brothers and sisters because of the presence of abundant water and atmosphere. Water keeps this planet fit for habitation and life.

An important use of water in our country is for irrigation. Through irrigation we have not only been able to extend the cultivated area but also raise the agricultural productivity. Besides water is required in large amount for different industrial and domestic consumption.

The availability of water, unlike land varies from one place to another and from time to time. In India bulk of the rainfall is confined to just three or four months of the year . Scarcity of water during the dry months is seen surprisingly even in place receiving heavy rainfall like Cherrapunji. Due to this biased rainfall distribution the country is a sufferer of flood and famine in some place or the other every year. The recent incessant down pours in Mumbai and Chennai bears testimony in this regards.

Our ground water resources are not equally distributed .The northern parts of our country and the the coastal plains have abundant of these ground water reserves but the rest of the country have below adequate reserve of the ground water making it very difficult for them to meet their needs . There are places in India where people have to walk for more than a kilometer to fetch a bucket of water. All villages of India are not having adequate access to safe drinking water though initiatives in form of schemes by the government are on the run. Even after six decades of independence this pitiable condition the its people is fully put in the agendas of the different programs of meeting the basic human needs that are been formulated.

Hydel power or electricity generation from water is also an important aspect of the role played by water in meeting the needs of man. Power development from water was initiated in India with the commissioning of hydro power station at Shivasamudram on the river Kaveri in Karnataka in the year 1902. In India, small hydro (25 MW) power station have a potential of generating about 15000 MW of which till now only about 1700 MW is been utilized. Thus we have more scope of power generation in this respect.

Role played by water in agriculture is well known. Water is one of the prime compound of nature the whole physiological functions in a plant is totally controlled by water. Besides meeting the need of water to overcome stress condition, it helps for the easy flow of nutrients from soil to the place of need inside the plant and besides within it.

Besides meeting all these agricultural, industrial and the basic needs of human, water helps in navigation across countries, within countries or across continents. Water has made possible access to such places which were earlier unheard of.

The water crisis being faced by the people of Bhopal which was in recently in news should be noted in this regards. The agony faced by the people of Bhopal and other far flung areas of Madhya Pradesh has bought to light the the long standing demand and need of free, safe and protected drinking water. Receding ground water reserves, non functional tube wells due to receding ground water level, shrinking water reserves and the half hearted efforts on the part of the authorities concerned has been of concern not only significant of regional but national magnitude. The people in these water deficient areas are at times constrained to buy water tanks at very towering rates or at times compelled to leave their own houses to some other places where they may find their much needed water to persist their existence.

Society is rapidly becoming more and more health conscious. More and more people now pay more attention to what they put inside their body. Sales of vital vitamin giving food products, herbs and organic foods are steadily growing. Yet water which is essential to all organisms is often the neglected entity. Water which is the life supporting fluid of every living organism is often ignored by the people in the present day. Society expects the clean water to be consistently available out o f our taps. Our water chemicalized with chlorine or fluoride, is accepted without a second thought as being the best for us. Even the best physician will often suggest 8 glasses of water per day. Our water is thought as safe and clean to drink. But is it so?

There is hardly any city where water is not disinfected or sterilized through the addition of chlorine or fluoride or some other methods like irradiation in some of the developed nations. But this water is even not suitable or good for human body as they have their own ill effects due to the chemicals used. Chlorine is a sinister poison.

The situation in some parts of the country have reached such alarming proportions that many deaths have been recorded due to lack of access of safe drinking water increased population , industrial wastes and agricultural chemicals are contaminating our water sources. Example can be very well cited as we see in chemicals spills, land spills, excessive herbicide and agricultural chemicals and pesticides, along with nitrate fertilizer runoff that affect lakes, rivers and underground aquifers.

Over thousand chemicals have been found by scientist in drinking water. But the government effort to solve this problems is slow not in India but also in developed countries like the united states of America. Calcium fluoride have been found in some ground water and it has been scientifically proved that calcium fluoride helps in prevention of tooth decay. But some of the governments administrators engaged in supplying safe drinking water treat the water meant for drinking with sodium fluoride hoping or in this context thinking that it will have similar beneficial effects like calcium fluoride. Some scientific finding links sodium fluoride to cause cancer!

Scientist of high merit or social scientist in cooperation with higher authorities dealing with water resources or scientific institution of repute along with the active participation of the common people should come forward to bring about the necessary awareness in this and related issues of access to safe, cosseted drinking water.