The United Nations General
Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/47/193) of December 22 1992) by which March
22 of each year was declared World Day for Water, to be observed starting in
1993, in conformity with the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED) contained in Chapter 18 (Fresh Water
Resources) of Agenda
21. States were invited to devote the Day, as appropriate in the
national context, to concrete activities such as the promotion of public
awareness through the publication and diffusion of documentaries and the
organisation of conferences, round tables, seminars and expositions related to
the conservation and development of water resources and the implementation of
the recommendations of Agenda 21.
The
looming water crisis is one of the most critical challenges facing the world
today. Global demand for this precious resource has increased more than six-fold
over the past century compared with a threefold increase in world population.
Without better management of water resources and related ecosystems, two-thirds
of humanity will suffer from severe or moderate shortages by the year 2025. This year the theme for World Water Day was
Water for Development. To commemorate the occasion, CUTS-Centre for Sustainable Production and Consumption organised a
panel discussion on March 22, 2002 titled “Management of Surface Water in West
Bengal.”
Objective:
The
objective of the discussion was to sensitise media on the above issue and to
focus on the success and failures of management of surface water and the
problems with underground water in West Bengal.
Participants:
Journalists from various media and
NGOs working on environmental issues and academia participated in the above
discussion.
Experts raise water deficit alarm in West Bengal
Calcutta,
March 22: According to statistics of the
state irrigation department the per capita availability of water in West Bengal
has gone down from 5,608 cubic metres in 1951 to 1,839 cubic metres in 2001. In
2011, the per capita availability of water is likely go down to 1,579 cubic
metres if the same consumption pattern is followed.
If
things go this way, there is grave doubt whether our future generations will get
water said water management expert Kalyan Rudra. He was speaking at panel
discussion organised by Consumer Unity & Trust Society to commemorate the
occasion of World Water Day celebrated every year on
March 22.
The main problem in the current water
management scenario is that the sources of storage are in the neighbouring
states. While 60 per cent of the surface water is available in the state is in
North Bengal, the area has no storage facility. Further, the river valley
project, which feed irrigation systems in South Bengal, has lost a significant
amount of its capacity due to heavy siltation. No
new dam has been built since the 1960s and no efforts have been launched to
increase the storage capacity of those in operation either, so that there is no
mechanism for storing the excess water in the monsoon season.
Rudra
also questioned the laying of synthetic sheets to prevent water loss from canal
bases. It costs Rs.40 lakhs for making a synthetic turf over a stretch of one
kilometre and most farmers in India are unlikely to afford purchase of water for
agriculture at such a price.
Another scientist, Arunabha
Majumder, speaking on the occasion suggested that the farmers could be taught to
purify the stored rainwater for drinking by filtering it through pebbles and
sand.
The decline in ground water levels had a severe negative effect on
biodiversity. As water level declined, numerous plants, which thrived on ground
water, have perished. Apart from affecting biodiversity and ecological balance,
it has adversely affected the life of animals due to the scarcity of fodder.
Arsenic contamination has been a
major problem in West Bengal and has been fuelled by declining levels of ground
water. Recent soil tests in arsenic-affected blocks of North 24 Parganas have
shown that around 6.4 tonnes of arsenic is being deposited in the farmlands in
these areas. As a result, crops that are being grown here, including paddy,
wheat, and vegetables like papaya, potatoes and radish, have also shown a
dangerous level of arsenic contamination in them.
International studies have shown
that without better management of water resources and related ecosystems,
two-thirds of humanity will suffer from severe to moderate shortages of water by
2025. Therefore, the government should immediately start managing water
resources sustainably and look into the various aspects of proper management of
surface water.
