If we follow on the muddy tracks that we have been leaving behind, India will soon become a country with an alarming water scarcity. Uma Bharti, the Water Resource Union Minister, warned about this imminent threat today stating increasing demand, uncertain availability and over exploitation of rivers as the causes behind the situation.
She made a case at the World Sustainable Development Summit in New Delhi where the Centre signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on water resources development and management with the European Union. Speaking with a sense of urgency, she said “The holy rivers of India are getting exhausted of their natural ability to sustain themselves due to pollution from various sources. The per capital water availability in India has been on continuous decline which has put our country in water stressed category and is close to being categorised as water scarce. The vagaries of climate change are expected to exacerbate the situation.”
This does hold true as climate change has become a very real and serious threat in the past decade. Its consequences are trickling down to every level of survival, including the degradation of water bodies. If this indifference towards nature doesn’t stop, it could very well be the cause of much chaos in the country.
Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet approved the MoU on October 5th presented by the minister although a few people have qualms about its effectiveness. Mr. Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission, has pondered that the agreement might not solve anything but it is the right step towards bringing an awareness about the cause.
