India
has been facing frictions over the sharing of river waters. Karnataka and Tamil
Nadu are fighting like two warring nations over sharing of Cauvery river
waters. Punjab, Haryana and Delhi have also been engaged in horrid conflict
over sharing of Sutlej river water and the construction of Sutlej-Yamuna link
canal. Odisha and Chhatisgarh are also at loggerhead on sharing the water of
Mahanadi river. Water sharing can also happen to be a hot issue that can
develop into a conflict between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Water wars in
future will create a problem for the entire nation.
Central and state governments both are responsible for this situation. Water management is very bad in India. Floods and droughts are the regular havoc in India. The standard per capita availability of water is 1,550 cubic meters a year which make India as a ‘water deficient’ nation. Every year situation has been getting worse. According to a survey by ‘Central Ground Water Board’ suggest that before the south-west monsoon (April to July), the ground level falls around 65% in various part of the country. This situation is worsening every year.
This is a big tension for the future. Today about 75% to 80% water recourses are consumed by agriculture sector but this sector supports more than half of India’s population. Indian farmers do not use modern techniques which result in the use of two to four times more water to produce the same unit of a crop as compared to China and Brazil. Government studies show that states like Punjab and Tamil Nadu are most water demanding productions.
For example, Punjab consumes 4,118 litres and Tamil Nadu consumes 4,118 litres and whereas Bengal and Assam consume 2,169 and 2,432 litres of waters respectively to produce one kilogramme of rice. This problem can be solved very easily. States must construct dams and check dams in every districts and Link Rivers by constructing canals.
But due to dirty politics by regional parties and obstructive and disruptive attitude of NGT and other environmental and green bodies, NGOs, judiciary etc., such positive actions are not implemented. Hence nation has to see such water wars between states in future.
On the one hand, Indian states are fighting for waters but India’s great folly of 1960 is also responsible for this ‘water stressed’ situation. India signed a treaty with our enemy nation, Pakistan, which donates around 80% water of Indus river system to this enemy nation. The Indus Water Treaty (IWT) gives only 19.48% water of the six rivers of Indus system although all the rivers originate from India.
If all the waters of Indus river system had been in India, there would have been no water shortage in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Utter Pradesh. Due to this suicidal treaty, Pakistan took away almost 80% waters of six Indians rivers named Indus, Jhelum, Ravi, Chenab, Beas and Sutlej with their tributaries.
On the one hand India has been facing conflicts between her states and on the other hand, Pakistan has been tormenting India by misusing the provisions of IWT. But due to the pro-Pakistan vote-bank in India and very strong pro-Pak lobby, India is not in a position to terminate this disastrous treaty. Even Pakistan has been trying to stop the construction of small dams and hydropower projects. In 2005, noted water research institutes, International Water Management Institute and Tata Water Policy Programmes, also advocated for scrapping the Indus Water Treaty as it was against the interest of India.
(Danik Jagran, New Delhi, 23 September, 2016, p-17.)
Now this treaty is has a liability for the nation. If this treaty is dissolved, water shortage in six states of India will be solved. Few years’ back US unilaterally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty after Russia did not agree with its revision. Now even the Muslim majority J&K assembly is demanding the annulling of this treaty. They found this treaty is also largely hampering the development of the state. According to nationalist environmentalist
River expert and environmentalist Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asian Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) agrees with such an option. India has been permitted to construct storage of water on western rivers up to 3.6 million acre feet (MAF) for various purposes, but the country has not developed any storage facility. Thakkar said, “We have never exercised our rights under the treaty as we have not created infrastructure our side to use water of western rivers. We must, therefore, concentrate on building barrages and other storage facilities to use the water.”
(The Times of India, New Del;hi, Saturday, September 24, 2016, p-19)
Lately, India has started to address this problem of water and electricity shortages. Now India is building small dams and hydropower plants in Jammu and Kashmir. On the one hand, India and Indian states have become a “water-stressed” nation but Pakistan is building huge dams and power projects on these rivers, such as Bunji Dam (Capicity-7,000 MW), Bhasha Dam (Capacity 4,500 MW). Even Pakistan has invited China to build big dams in PoK and in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Due to the surrender of India to Pakistan, this treaty is the most successful treaty. India never shows any courage to dissolve the treaty. The dissolution of IWT will give India enough water to link Chenab with Ravi-Beas-Sutlej-Yamuna system and to address the water problem in the northern part of the country.
Nation is facing this new type of water wars. From tap to rivers and dams and from court to streets, such jostling can be seen. the flow of water in India is seemingly out of control. But the bitter irony is that there is hardly any voice against the arch enemy Pakistan for monopolising the water of six rivers.
Water is in abundance in India. A population which has now more than quadrupled since 1951 has enough rain water. But this rainwater is not collected and stored in India. If all the rain water of Cauvery basin and her catchment area is collected and stored in dams and barrages, it will fulfil the needs of both warring states.
Narrow vote bank politics create more rivalries. A number of states are involved in such conflicts. Now even communities, whose water will be diverted quickly rise up in organised protest like caste quota wars. For example, Bengaluru is not allowed more water from the Cauvery, so it tries to take from Netravati River, but far, far away, in Mangalore district people organise protests. Now big cities must respond by constructing dams, check dams and barrages to meet the demand of water.
We can talk of perpetual water only when we ensure the regular flow of water in rivers. This can be ensured by the construction of dams, check dams, barrages, river linking and rain-water harvesting. Such methods will also reduce the pollution level of rivers.
But unfortunately, most of the state governments are doing nothing on this front. Ironically, though, such measures will benefit everyone in the long run. Center, government and state governments come together to meet the demand and reduce clashes. With big dams and river linking, flexible water storage systems in form of check dams, barrages and rain-water harvesting system must be commissioned. This will also bring economic prosperity for all. We have to re-design and overhaul the water storing patterns to optimise every drop of rain, across all competing users- agriculture, industry, urban and rural domestic needs.
Nation also needs a radical rethinking for water. The government must open integrated research institutions for surface and ground-water education and research which has long been neglected. They should only focus to govern water more wisely, both for quantity and quality. The specialist organisation like National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) must be involved in this exercise.
Ironically, Bengaluru is very aggressive in the fight over the Cauvery, but it has almost killed two rivers due to pollution- Vrishabhavathy and Arkavathy, flowing in its backyard. Local bodies need to be radically restructured and remove all the encroachments from the river beds, catchment areas, wet-lands and water bodies.
We cannot stop the conflicts like the Cauvery dispute or Mahanadi dispute or Sutlej-Yamuna link canal dispute without storing more water in dams and barrages.
Citizens will have to compel elected representatives to build the new water facilities in the nation. Peacefully and perennially, then the Cauvery, Mahanadi, Sutlej and families of Indus rivers can flow.
Central and state governments both are responsible for this situation. Water management is very bad in India. Floods and droughts are the regular havoc in India. The standard per capita availability of water is 1,550 cubic meters a year which make India as a ‘water deficient’ nation. Every year situation has been getting worse. According to a survey by ‘Central Ground Water Board’ suggest that before the south-west monsoon (April to July), the ground level falls around 65% in various part of the country. This situation is worsening every year.
This is a big tension for the future. Today about 75% to 80% water recourses are consumed by agriculture sector but this sector supports more than half of India’s population. Indian farmers do not use modern techniques which result in the use of two to four times more water to produce the same unit of a crop as compared to China and Brazil. Government studies show that states like Punjab and Tamil Nadu are most water demanding productions.
For example, Punjab consumes 4,118 litres and Tamil Nadu consumes 4,118 litres and whereas Bengal and Assam consume 2,169 and 2,432 litres of waters respectively to produce one kilogramme of rice. This problem can be solved very easily. States must construct dams and check dams in every districts and Link Rivers by constructing canals.
But due to dirty politics by regional parties and obstructive and disruptive attitude of NGT and other environmental and green bodies, NGOs, judiciary etc., such positive actions are not implemented. Hence nation has to see such water wars between states in future.
On the one hand, Indian states are fighting for waters but India’s great folly of 1960 is also responsible for this ‘water stressed’ situation. India signed a treaty with our enemy nation, Pakistan, which donates around 80% water of Indus river system to this enemy nation. The Indus Water Treaty (IWT) gives only 19.48% water of the six rivers of Indus system although all the rivers originate from India.
If all the waters of Indus river system had been in India, there would have been no water shortage in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Utter Pradesh. Due to this suicidal treaty, Pakistan took away almost 80% waters of six Indians rivers named Indus, Jhelum, Ravi, Chenab, Beas and Sutlej with their tributaries.
On the one hand India has been facing conflicts between her states and on the other hand, Pakistan has been tormenting India by misusing the provisions of IWT. But due to the pro-Pakistan vote-bank in India and very strong pro-Pak lobby, India is not in a position to terminate this disastrous treaty. Even Pakistan has been trying to stop the construction of small dams and hydropower projects. In 2005, noted water research institutes, International Water Management Institute and Tata Water Policy Programmes, also advocated for scrapping the Indus Water Treaty as it was against the interest of India.
(Danik Jagran, New Delhi, 23 September, 2016, p-17.)
Now this treaty is has a liability for the nation. If this treaty is dissolved, water shortage in six states of India will be solved. Few years’ back US unilaterally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty after Russia did not agree with its revision. Now even the Muslim majority J&K assembly is demanding the annulling of this treaty. They found this treaty is also largely hampering the development of the state. According to nationalist environmentalist
River expert and environmentalist Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asian Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) agrees with such an option. India has been permitted to construct storage of water on western rivers up to 3.6 million acre feet (MAF) for various purposes, but the country has not developed any storage facility. Thakkar said, “We have never exercised our rights under the treaty as we have not created infrastructure our side to use water of western rivers. We must, therefore, concentrate on building barrages and other storage facilities to use the water.”
(The Times of India, New Del;hi, Saturday, September 24, 2016, p-19)
Lately, India has started to address this problem of water and electricity shortages. Now India is building small dams and hydropower plants in Jammu and Kashmir. On the one hand, India and Indian states have become a “water-stressed” nation but Pakistan is building huge dams and power projects on these rivers, such as Bunji Dam (Capicity-7,000 MW), Bhasha Dam (Capacity 4,500 MW). Even Pakistan has invited China to build big dams in PoK and in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Due to the surrender of India to Pakistan, this treaty is the most successful treaty. India never shows any courage to dissolve the treaty. The dissolution of IWT will give India enough water to link Chenab with Ravi-Beas-Sutlej-Yamuna system and to address the water problem in the northern part of the country.
Nation is facing this new type of water wars. From tap to rivers and dams and from court to streets, such jostling can be seen. the flow of water in India is seemingly out of control. But the bitter irony is that there is hardly any voice against the arch enemy Pakistan for monopolising the water of six rivers.
Water is in abundance in India. A population which has now more than quadrupled since 1951 has enough rain water. But this rainwater is not collected and stored in India. If all the rain water of Cauvery basin and her catchment area is collected and stored in dams and barrages, it will fulfil the needs of both warring states.
Narrow vote bank politics create more rivalries. A number of states are involved in such conflicts. Now even communities, whose water will be diverted quickly rise up in organised protest like caste quota wars. For example, Bengaluru is not allowed more water from the Cauvery, so it tries to take from Netravati River, but far, far away, in Mangalore district people organise protests. Now big cities must respond by constructing dams, check dams and barrages to meet the demand of water.
We can talk of perpetual water only when we ensure the regular flow of water in rivers. This can be ensured by the construction of dams, check dams, barrages, river linking and rain-water harvesting. Such methods will also reduce the pollution level of rivers.
But unfortunately, most of the state governments are doing nothing on this front. Ironically, though, such measures will benefit everyone in the long run. Center, government and state governments come together to meet the demand and reduce clashes. With big dams and river linking, flexible water storage systems in form of check dams, barrages and rain-water harvesting system must be commissioned. This will also bring economic prosperity for all. We have to re-design and overhaul the water storing patterns to optimise every drop of rain, across all competing users- agriculture, industry, urban and rural domestic needs.
Nation also needs a radical rethinking for water. The government must open integrated research institutions for surface and ground-water education and research which has long been neglected. They should only focus to govern water more wisely, both for quantity and quality. The specialist organisation like National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) must be involved in this exercise.
Ironically, Bengaluru is very aggressive in the fight over the Cauvery, but it has almost killed two rivers due to pollution- Vrishabhavathy and Arkavathy, flowing in its backyard. Local bodies need to be radically restructured and remove all the encroachments from the river beds, catchment areas, wet-lands and water bodies.
We cannot stop the conflicts like the Cauvery dispute or Mahanadi dispute or Sutlej-Yamuna link canal dispute without storing more water in dams and barrages.
Citizens will have to compel elected representatives to build the new water facilities in the nation. Peacefully and perennially, then the Cauvery, Mahanadi, Sutlej and families of Indus rivers can flow.
No comments:
Post a Comment