The heat is on

Govt must proactively address water woes

Come summer and the water availability dwindles in most part of the country. This year, the situation may be much worse because of the double whammy of anticipated warmer-than-normal temperatures and a projected sub-par monsoon. Many areas, especially in the south, are already facing acute water shortage due to unabated drought since 2014. If the usual pre-monsoon summer rains also elude the region — which is not being ruled out — the scarcity may intensify further to require water to be carried from distant places to meet the bare minimum needs of people. Though the cumulated water stock in the country’s 91 major reservoirs is marginally above average, the storage in the 31 located in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu is worryingly low. Many borewells, especially in and around Chennai, have either dried up or are in urgent need of deepening. Water resources of Bengaluru and its adjoining tracts, too, are fast depleting. The Karnataka government has, unsurprisingly, signaled that it might curtail or stop the supply of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu if it does not rain quickly enough. Water woes in the northern, central and western parts of the country are no less ominous with temperatures shooting up and the demand for water spurting rapidly. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has identified 50-odd districts across several states as highly vulnerable to heat waves and prolonged dry weather. 

To add to the disquiet on this front, some private weather forecasters have predicted this year’s monsoon to be below normal. Though the veracity of this prognosis is yet to be substantiated and the long range monsoon prediction of the IMD is still awaited, the warning cannot be overlooked. The IMD had also cautioned, way back in February, that April and May would be relatively hot and dry without much pre-monsoon activity. Such harsh weather can have severe and wide-ranging consequences for people, livestock, agriculture, hydel power generation and other water-dependent sectors. The year 2016 was the hottest on record since 1901. If 2017 turns out to be worse, as is being projected, special strategies will be required to cope with the consequences. 

From a water management viewpoint, prior planning is imperative to economise its use, reduce wastage and conserve every drop of rain whenever and wherever it falls. For human health, the IMD, along with other agencies like the National Disaster Management Authority, Red Cross Society and Medical Council of India (MCI), has mooted an elaborate action plan to mitigate heat-induced casualties. Provision of drinking water in public places, changing school timings, shifting hospital wards for children and women to lower floors and regular dissemination of weather- and health-related advisories are among the suggestions made by these agencies. In addition, it may also be necessary to set up “day shelters” for the poor, on the lines of the “Rain Baseras” (night shelters) in winter, to protect them from the mid-day heat. For the same purpose, the Red Cross and the MCI have offered to distribute oral rehydration packets. Some 11 states are stated to have prepared action plans to combat heat and water scarcity. The Centre should spur others also to do so, besides chipping in with its own contribution towards this effort. A repeat of last year, when over 1,100 people died due to intense heat, must be avoided at all costs.