Prof Rajita Chaudhuri follow some off-beat trends like organizing make up sessionsAs Punjab's groundwater turns toxic and scarce, the state faces the grim prospect of a severe crisis, reports Jatinder KaurThe land of five rivers is fast running out of water and its people are losing their cool. As the Punjab groundwater table sinks and a major crisis looms on the horizon, tempers are beginning to rise. But the state government seems unperturbed.
One recent incident should have served as a wake-up call. But one isn't sure that it has. In Jalandhar's Basti Sheikh, when a municipal corporation tanker was supplying drinking water, a violent altercation between two neighbours ended in the death of one of them.
Trouble erupted when one Nand Lal and his son were filling their buckets. Another Basti Sheikh resident, Vikas Manchanda, tried to jump the queue. Nand Lal protested. Fisticuffs ensued. The punches that Manchanda threw at Nand Lal proved fatal. The latter succumbed to the blows.
This tragic incident occurred just before the nor'westers brought some relief from the blazing sun. It highlighted the magnitude of the water shortage that Punjab is in grip of today. The state is anything but water-deficient, but the manner in which its residents have over the years exploited the life-giving resource has pushed Punjab to the brink of what could prove to be a catastrophe.
The state is in the throes of a severe water crisis that is getting worse with each passing year. Indiscriminate exploitation of groundwater for both agricultural and drinking purposes has led to rapid depletion. Of the 12,423 villages of Punjab, 11,849 are facing a shortage of drinking water. The water level in 30 per cent of the state was found to be 20 metres below the ground in 2005. Moreover, the water that is being drawn from the ground has alarmingly high sodium carborate content.
A survey conducted jointly by the Punjab Agricultural University and National Bureau of Soil Survey discovered that 57 seven per cent of ground water was not fit for consumption. In Muktsar, only 38 per cent groundwater is fit for drinking and agricultural purposes, in Faridkot 33 per cent, in Mansa 35, in Bathinda 19.77 per cent and in Moga 14.98 per cent.
The total area under cultivation in the state is 42.68 lakh hectares and the requirement for water is 43.7 lakh cubic metres. Availability is only 31 lakh cubic metres. The groundwater table has been going down 30 cubic meters per year. The water level has declined dangerously in 108 of the 138 development blocks that constitute Punjab. Most of the affected blocks are situated in the Malwa region. Despite the water crisis, Punjab has not formulated a water management policy. Union sports minister M.S. Gill has this to say about the worsening situation: 'We are dependent on canals, dams, tube-wells and rain water for irrigation. If these sources dry up, the agricultural tracts in the state will turn into wasteland. When I was the development commissioner of Punjab from 1985 to 1988, I had suggested that tube-wells should be installed only by licence and that a rule be framed for not boring beyond a particular limit. All should get an equal share of water irrespective of their economic status.' Gill's fears weren't unfounded. If such indiscriminate use of water continues, the land of five rivers, India's granary, will be reduced to a barren desert. Agricultural experts hold that water shortage is linked to the issue of water pollution. These two issues cannot be viewed separately. Along with misuse of water, there is excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides to get bumper crops. According to a survey, Punjab utilises twice as much fertilisers and pesticides as the rest of the country put together.
Most areas in Punjab are under wheat and rice cultivation. The latter is more dependent on water, so paddy cultivation has aggravated the water crisis in the state. The state government had passed an ordinance forbidding paddy plantation before June 10. The main aim of this ordinance was to curb the use of tube-well water. Monsoon hits Punjab only in late June but farmers seeking two crops of paddy start plantation early by using tube-well water. This has led to the depletion of the groundwater table. This year, paddy plantation in Patiala was started as early as end-May this year.
The government has been turning a blind eye to this flagrant violation of the ordinance. Organic farming campaigner Umendra Dutt says: 'Water is a gift of nature and is considered a purifying agent. We have polluted it so much that it has turned poisonous. We will have to pay a heavy price in the future.'
Dutt says that the responsibility for water conservation does not lie with the government alone. The entire population should be become a part of this essential mission. 'Punjab should have a water budget and proper water management should be introduced across the state. This should be done at the individual, town and zonal levels. Irrigational, industrial and household use of water should be regulated.'
The water crisis is also related to loans that farmers take for agricultural purposes. H.S. Randhawa, former professor of chemistry, Punjab Agricultural University, says: 'Earlier farmers would obtain loans for tractors or threshers, but now they are seeking loans in order to sink tube-wells too. But as the groundwater table goes down, these bore-wells are rendered unusable after a couple of years. The farmer is still repaying the old loan when the need for another loan arises.' If something isn't done about the water situation, Punjab agriculture might be living on borrowed time.
An Initiative of
IIPM,
Malay Chaudhuri and
Arindam chaudhuri (
Renowned Management Guru and
Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.IIPM Prof Rajita Chaudhuri's SnapsIIPM BBA MBA Institute: Student Notice BoardRun after passion and not money, says Arindam ChaudhuriAward Conferred To Irom Chanu Sharmila By IIPMIIPM’s Management Consulting Arm - Planman ConsultingIIPM Lucknow – News article in Economic Times and Times of India
