Dear Editor,
Everytime we hold a glass of water in our hand to quench our thirst ,we should think about 30 crore people who are suffering the worst drought of the century.Around 14 states of India have gone dry.From dawn to dusk the struggle is for a glass of water.Dry choked million throats just ask a million dollar question “When will this agony of dryness end?” The days become months the sky ceases to melt,what melts are the moist eyes.Imagine the position of a lady who religiously wakes up at 3:00 AM and walks 10 – 12 Kms to get a bucket of water .The whole process takes her seven to eight hours.This is the story of thousands of villages of central and southern states of India.
There are dry visible cracks on the surfaces of agricultural lands which range from inches to several feet.Around 40 per cent of the population of India is encountering the worst ever drought of the century.The story of north is also not so good as the source of Ganga,Yamuna,Bhramputra,Ravi ,Satluj and other rivers who are the life line of north India are facing the meltdown at their source glaciers.The meltdown of major glaciers is a process which is on for so many years and with the result almost the size of these giant glaciers has been cut down considerably at an alarming pace.Are we heading a situation where these major rivers will remain in history text books ? Leave aside the agriculture we wo’nt be able to moist our throats if this carries on for few more years and unfortunately this is the harsh reality which we have to face in the near future.
The meltdown is on and not only India the global warming which was a mere warning few years back has become a harsh reality at present.Will it be the the cause of the end of this world?The water war will change the demography of the globe .No nuke drop outs will end the world but it can the drop of water.
The damage has be done and we humans are responsible; with the degradation and manipulation of natural resources we have created a hole which will sink us inside gradually but surely.
The so called cosmetic solution of this water crisis will yield no results as we have crossed the deadline decades back.There was a saying” Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink” but at present when water is nowhere ,where to get the drop. Next time when you hold a glass of water ,just cherish that moment as you never know when glass will remain empty and eyes moist.
Sanjay Raina
Chandigarh.
