Shimla-like Water Crisis to Hit Metro Cities, Other Hill Stations Soon, Say Experts
Water conservationist Rajendra Singh claims nearly 70 per cent of the country's groundwater resources are getting "exhausted" at a faster pace than being recharged.
New Delhi, June 5: Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh and one of the most popular hill stations in the nation, is reeling under acute water shortage for the last 20 days. The crisis aggravated in the past week, when drinking water scarcity was reported from all parts of the city.
If experts are to be believed, a Shimla-like crisis is likely to hit other hill stations, along with major metro cities, over the next decade. The trigger to the water crisis will be the depletion of groundwater resources, claims Sushmita Sengupta, programme manager of Centre for Science and Environment.
The primary source of water to Delhi, Sushmita explains, is the river Yamuna. Since it is being constantly polluted and cemented, the pressure has increased on ground water resources. However, depolluting the rivers is necessary for the wells to be constantly recharged.
Similarly in Bengaluru, the spree of polluted lakes are failing to recharge the groundwater resources.
Water conservationist Rajendra Singh claims nearly 70 per cent of the country's groundwater resources are getting "exhausted" -- which means we are pumping out the wells at a faster pace than being recharged.
At this rate, the groundwater reservoirs would begin drying up in the next five-to-six years, claims Singh, who is also referred to as "India's Waterman".
"At least 12 metro cities will face severe water crisis in the next five to six years, and in the next ten years there will be a crisis in almost all parts of the country," he was reported as saying by HT.
Hill stations are also bracing up for a similar crisis, claims Arun Kansal, who heads the department of regional water studies at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). The water shortage is primarily caused due to lack of water conservation methods, he said, adding that a "floating tourist population" aggravates the crisis.
According to a 2015-World Resources Institute report, at least 54 per cent of the India is reeling under water shortage, with the states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka worst affected.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 05, 2018 09:31 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).