Hundreds
of millions of Indians are in need of clean water and demand may
twice exceed the available supply by 2030, a government think tank
has warned. 200,000 people already die annually due to drought and
water contamination.
The
second-largest population in the world is suffering from the worst
water crisis in its history, with the situation deteriorating year by
year, according to a study by the government-run National Institution
for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) think tank.
The
study found 21 of the busiest cities in India, including New Delhi,
Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad, are expected to reach zero
groundwater levels by 2020, affecting 100 million people, according
to the study.
“Currently,
600 million Indians face high to extreme water stress and about
[200,000] people die every year due to inadequate access to safe
water,” the study warned.
The
unfolding crisis is only going to get worse, NITI Aayog predicted. In
just over 10 years, hundreds of millions of Indians would be
suffering from “severe water scarcity”, while the
country’s GDP would drop by 6 percent.
The
current state of India’s water resources is equally concerning, the
study noted. Droughts are steadily becoming a nationwide challenge,
making life miserable for India’s farmers. “When water is
available, it is likely to be contaminated (up to 70% of our water
supply),” the think tank said.
The
situation is being blamed on poor water governance. Crops that need a
lot of water planted in areas unsuitable for them, and waste being
dumped into canals. Managing water resources “is often currently
viewed as a zero-sum game” in issues such as agricultural
incentives and pump electricity pricing, researchers noted.
The
South East Asian nation saw a number of water-related protests in
recent times. Tensions over water allocations from the Narmada River
were gripping Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra
Modi. In March, state authorities limited irrigation takeaways from
the river, asking farmers not to sow crops.
Scores
of people died in violent protests over the Kaveri River dispute
between southern Indian states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. India is
also locked in long-standing disputes with neighboring China,
Pakistan and Bangladesh over water sharing from cross-border rivers.
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