WATER FOR ALL: NO ONE TO BE LEFT BEHIND

Ashish Saurabh | The TrickyScribe:  Water, according to leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm Goldman Sachs, is the ‘petroleum of the next century’ and is one of the most immediate prerequisites for the survival of the humanity, has been the cradle for civilizations since time immemorial.

Disputes around the issue of water are too numerous to be encapsulated here. Be it Indus or Cauvery. Issue remains the same. No exceptions! The intermittent water disputes, plaguing the sub-continent, need to be addressed in a comprehensive way; at the earliest.

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Latest spike, however, in the number of water dispute in the South Asian sub-continent is a reflection of larger global trend that is casting its shadow on the hitherto water sufficient region of the globe. With India threatening Pakistan for using the share of Indus water that ‘rightfully belongs to India’; the domestic water war has plagued India itself for too long.

In India, the federal fabric happens to be under severe strains owing to surge in the number of inter-state water disputes. Many of the disputes that surfaced recently have a long duree, nonetheless, the intense passion and jingoism that was put on show is alarming. The larger issue, however, is still to be framed in the debate, the issue of water intensive lifestyle.

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Modern day technology has been a transformative experience in Anthropocene. The tremendous impact has affected us in many ways. Right from our daily chores to agriculture, we have been adding many ways to enrich our water intensive lifestyle.

Sugarcane, for an example, was grown in areas that had high water supply. Blessed with irrigation facilities, areas that were hitherto water deficient have started growing the water intensive crop, thereby increasing the water appetite for the region.

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From car washes to frequent flushes in restrooms, we have been wasting waters in numerously creative ways which our forefathers didn’t. It is not to say that these habits are to be forbidden but to mark that our water appetite has grown humongously. Equilibrium is nowhere close to the horizon.

Politics of freebies

From waving of water rent to supply of free electricity for the pump sets, political elite has always been hand-in-gloves with our water intensive lifestyle and has further incentivised it. Often to gain extra marks from the potential voters, political parties especially those with regional orientation fuel the issue and provoke passion.

World Water Day

As a mean of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources United Nations designated as World Water Day. The theme this time is ‘Leaving no one behind’. It aspires at reminding people about the significance of fresh water and to promote sustainability for fresh water resources’ management. It’s a day designated to prepare for how we manage water in the future; a day to celebrate water. Interestingly, the theme in 2020 will be about Climate change.

Water for All!

Once the Agenda 2030 was adopted by the UN back in 2015, countries and stakeholders set out an ambitious agenda envisaging a world free of disease, hunger and poverty; a world where lifeforms can thrive with no one is left behind.

‘Water for All’ implies that all including those elderly, disabled, marginalized and poor get access to clean drinking water and proper sanitation as mentioned in Sustainable Development Goals. Billions of people are doomed to live without access to safe water – their households, schools, workplaces, farms and factories struggling to survive and thrive.

Marginalized groups – women, children, refugees, indigenous peoples, disabled people and many others – are often overlooked, and sometimes face discrimination, as they try to access and manage the safe water they need.