Prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh in his address to the nation on the eve of 62nd Independence Day stressed on the need of having a comprehensive national policy on conservation of water. The ground water resources are being replenished at a drastic rate, which in future will leave the nation on the mercy of monsoon and in a dry year like the current one water scarcity is bound to happen. In months of May and June, Indore faced huge scarcity of water. Municipal corporation employees were beaten up after which the police had to escort water tankers. These incidents will become more common in the coming years in absence of a national policy.
The policy formulation should address following issues
• Depleting underground water resources
• Changes in rainfall pattern
• Global warming
• Interstate water disputes
Depleting underground water reserves is most severe in Punjab & Haryana, largely because of the multi paddy crops sowed over the years. Multi paddy crops means more than one paddy crop in the same year in the same field. This was ultimately banned after a lot of hue and cry. Water level has fallen below 200 feet and farmers have resorted to submersible water pumps. The government should encourage alternate kharif crops and ensure adequate MSP and procurement. Agriculture has largely been limited to wheat and rice. Punjab over the years has witnessed GDP growth which was lower than the national average and in such a situation other crops may well be a blessing in disguise. The same practice of multi paddy crop has been started in Tarai region i.e. Udham Singh Nagar District in Uttarakhand and parts of bordering districts of Pilibhit, Barielly and Rampur in U.P. We Indians have developed a habit of waking up only in crisis, the authorities in these districts have turned a blind eye towards this development and it is only when water level will fall drastically that they will come into action.
FOR Rest of the Article, go to http://competitionquest.com/post.php?post=68
If the link doesnt work, copy and paste on the URL
No comments:
Post a Comment