Water shortage has become a major headache across India, but so far nobody in power is sitting up and taking notice. Every day, in the inside pages of newspapers, we come across small articles that highlight the plight of various small communities that are struggling for water:

Northeast water scarcity ?
From the hill area of Assam comes this story:
People at Semkhor village in Assam are facing acute water crisis. To meet their needs, the residents of this village collect water that drips from the mountains in pits.
The government has kept changing over the years, but no one has helped the village in ending the water crisis, the villagers said.
“We drink water which comes out of mountains. We do not have arrangements like tube well or anything by the government. People residing in the area are drinking water like this,” said Sopesh Pathari, a resident of Semkhor village.
Their ordeal doesn’t end here; the locals have to travel over a kilometre to fetch water every day. “We have a big water problem. We have requested the government department but they did not do anything. We travel one kilometre to get clean water,” said Khurabi, another resident of the village.
They said the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has constructed toilets but not provided water in them.
“It is very difficult to search for water. We do not even get water to take bath,” a woman said.
According to the 2011 census, availability of drinking water in Assam homes is 55 per cent, near the premises is 27 per cent, and away from the household premises is 19 per cent.
The 2011 census defines the concept of “within the premises” as the area of the household, and “near the premises” in an urban area as 100 metres from the premises and 500 metres from the premises in a rural area. “Away” in an urban area is defined as beyond 100 metres from the household premises and in a rural area it is beyond 500 metres.

In the South: drought conditions
In Tamil Nadu, we hear that water scarcity in the rice bowl: the Cauvery delta is in the throes of drought. Cashew, paddy, and banana crops are completely destroyed.
“There was about 27 per cent deficiency in rains this time. Usually, water levels start declining only after April in the delta region, but this time it started in February itself. There is no water in tanks, ponds and lakes in the region,” says Swamimalai R Vimalanathan, general secretary of the Thanjavur District Kaveri Farmers’ Protection Association told a local newspaper.
The Tamil Nadu government has declared 24 districts as drought-affected. Plus, close to 40 blocks in seven districts have also been declared drought-hit.

Long Thirsty summer for Bihar?
In Bihar, there we have received citizen’s reports of falling water table. Khandbihari village, in Kharagpur block, Munger, water levels have fallen seriously. Most government handpumps have stopped working. Some people have resorted to digging borewells and using submersible motors to extract water. Locals say that the water table has receded over forty feet.
Parts of Gaya District are also in the throes of acute water shortage, but so far, there seems to be no concerted action or planning in sight as we enter a long dry Summer.

  environment, water