Water Conservation - Why, How, and Our Contribution in Saving Water
The Economic Survey of India has put India at the global hot spot for water insecurity by the year 2050. This makes it essential for water conservation to be a mass movement. Since India has varied terrain, it has unique challenges in water conservation and its usage. One solution which might work in one part of the country might not apply to other regions. In 2019, Chennai had become an international headline when civic bodies declared "Day Zero" in the city since it ran out of water with all the reservoirs drying up. The NITI Aayog (government think-tank) report says that if we do not adopt methods for water conservation, 20 more cities(including Delhi, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad) would run out of groundwater in the next few years. Several parts of India are experiencing a severe water crisis with water requirements for agricultural activities being high. From the total groundwater available in India, 6% goes for domestic use, 5% is used in industries, and the remaining 89% goes to agriculture. These figures demonstrate a strong need for water conservation measures in India. Let us find out why conserving water is the need of the hour, some of the methods applied in water conservation, and the role of NGOs working for water conservation in India.