Recent discussions have made it impossible to ignore the importance of water in our daily lives. For some time – in the months gone by – the Ganga water supply has been intermittent. Though this did not result in water shortage, as underground water is used to compensate, it has prompted many to buy bottled water.
Next, timings were imposed on swimming pools. This step sparked discussions, as many found it difficult to beat the heat. Most important is the discussion on the installation of water meters, which is a welcome step.
Water is stored in underground tanks when supplied, and then pumped up so that there is water in our taps. The younger generation knows that there will always be water when they open the tap.
I have wondered about the impact of facilities like those present in first-world countries on our over-crowded cities and towns. While the twenty-four-hour availability of water is common now-a-days, it has led to people glazing over the efforts made to provide it, and hence not giving due appreciation.
Delhi, being a cosmopolitan place, has people from all over India. Some hail from arid regions like Saurashtra. To them, preserving water is engrained in their daily habits. Marking each one’s drinking glasses to reduce the numbers that must be repeatedly washed, mopping instead of washing, closing of taps and checking for leakages…
The failure of pipelines breaks the illusion of the twenty-four-hour availability of water. Such incidents are blessings in disguise. These are the times when the younger lot realises that water does not literally come from ‘just turning the taps.’
Hope this dose of reality is augmented with the basic knowledge of how water comes ‘through’ taps.
Water is a precious resource. Each one of us must conserve it to the best of our ability.
