Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi (SHP)
New Delhi, Jun 20: Water scarcity is real and there are already several cities in the country suffering from it. A report of NITI Ayog regarding groundwater level has already predicted a nightmare for over 21 Indian cities. By the year 2020, cities like Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad will completely exhaust their groundwater. This will end up affecting over a 100 million people.
The report continues stating the worst, by 2030, over 40 per cent of the country’s population will have no access to water. The report was formulated after researching and observing the depletion of water bodies around the major cities. It was noted that around three rivers, four water bodies, five wetlands and six forests have dried up in Chennai.
Considering the situation, former director of National Water Academy, Prof Manohar Khushalani said, “The government is depending upon the desalination in Chennai which is very expensive. They forget that earth is a limited planet and oceans will dry. What will we leave for our children and grandchildren? We may have a lot of money but we cannot ask our children to drink money instead of water. Using ocean water and desalination is not the solution, water harvesting is.”
He further added that it was the responsibility of the government and the citizens of the country to save and work towards increasing the groundwater levels. Manohar Khushalani, claimed that rainwater harvesting is not a difficult process and it can be done by anyone and everyone.
Since 2003, Manohar has developed rainwater harvesting in his own house premises. He says that he is trying to maintain the water level in his area.
Manohar suggested that regions with drought should discontinue the farming of sugarcane, as it absorbs lot of groundwater.
Owing to his love for environment, Manohar Khushalani has authored books on ‘Irrigation Practice’ and designed it in five volumes. Currently, Manohar is working as a professor in the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi.