Water Crisis and the Monsoon Factor in India, Discuss the necessary measures.

India is a hinterland country. As a result, it is surrounded by water from three sides. Moreover, it is the meeting ground of many water bodies specially originating from the Himalayas like the mighty river Brahmaputra, Ganga to name a few. The country India which boast of its ancient Indus Valley Civilization originated around the river Sindhu of the ancient Indian sub-continent. Moreover as in other parts of the world as also in the case of most of Indian cities trade and commerce flourished and prospered around our water bodies. So it would not be an exaggeration to say that Indians epicenter of life revolves around the availability of water.

Among God's various natural gifts water is most serene. So our countrymen's life and to a large extent their livelihood depends upon water. Moreover in a naturally serene country like ours the balance between nature and natural being is maintained to a large extent by water. Moreover our various water bodies acts as the inter-state and intra-state boundary. Here we can cite the example of Cauvery River which joins one part of Tamil Nadu with other parts of Karnataka. It is not only within states but also with our neighboring countries that rivers like Brahmaputra between India and China and Indus River between India and Pakistan that has acted as natural gifts for various trade and commerce between these neighboring countries.

In this world, water acts as the catalyst of life for not only human beings but also for various flora and fauna. In the long run, the combination of we, the human beings and our flora and fauna yields to food, fodder and forest of this world. Thus harmony of life on our planet depends upon the availability of water. Coming specifically to our country India we can say that ours is an agrarian country. As preached by Mahatma Gandhi – "India lives in its villages" and the main source of livelihood for our rural population is agriculture and agricultural activities. Still in this 21st Century, we can rightly say that – "Indian agriculture is a gamble in the Monsoon Factor". The productivity from agriculture is directly proportionate to the availability of water. For water, in this 21st century are to a large extent depends on Monsoon. We have as a country has not been able to make much headway in providing water in the agricultural fields by artificially induced irrigation measures, which have tilted our balance towards the dependence on Monsoon for supply of water. Here I would like to cite the instances of mass suicide by farmers in various parts of our country due to bad monsoon and as a result of unavailability of water.

In the recently concluded Delhi Legislative Election, water and it's varied use, whether for agriculture, drinking or industry etc was the main poll-plank for Aam Admi Party (AAP), as it capitalized on water crisis in Delhi and vis-à-vis AAP's promise to provide it to the public. The result of election which gave 67 out of 70 seats for AAP proves the gravity of water crisis in not only Delhi but also for the rest of the country in the long run. So, I think it is the transition time from caste-based politics to the politics of water in our country. In the times to come, I think water crisis and availability of water for the masses is going to take the centre stage of politics in our country. I think, it is the right time to ponder about the fact of water crisis in our country and how to overcome the Monsoon factor in India. Here are some measures:-

1. Firstly, we need to make a breakthrough in our use and utilization of our water bodies in our country, being a hinterland country.
2. Secondly, for optimum utilization of water bodies, so that, we need not have to depend on monsoon factor, we need to take concrete steps in water sharing not within the states of the country but also with our neighbours.
3. Thirdly, for proper inter-state and intra-state water sharing we need to make treaties like Indus-water treaty with Pakistan or the sharing of Brahmaputra water with China or within the country like Cauvery water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka not a bone of contention in our relations within the country or with our neighbours. On the contrary we should ponder over amicable solutions.
4. Fourthly, as agriculture is the title-line for most of our people and monsoon factor is gamble on it so, we need to make efforts for proper irrigation of our crops by harmonious utilization of water and water bodies in agriculture. This will break our jinx of dependence on monsoon for agriculture and as a result put an end to mass suicide by farmers in our country. Here we need to imitate Isreal's efforts of drip-irrigation in their country.
5. As water politics is at the centre-stage in our country, so, we need to make rain-water harvesting a national mission in our country so that, there is no water crisis during the lack of monsoon season. As a result, availability of water taking centre-stage instead of the lack of it.
6. Last but not the least, at present we are in a situation where we have water everywhere but not a drop to drink. In this regard we need to make a proper and coherent water policy in our country so that, there is no dearth of water in various facets of life of our countrymen. In this endeavor, step like Clean Ganga Mission is a right step in the right direction. At the same time, this mission of cleaning water bodies should not be limited to the river Ganga but should also include other water bodies so that, there is no water crisis in our country.

-Jnandeep Bora