Water problem could lead toWorld War III, says expert

‘Disaster will strike India if governments do not heed the wake-up call’

In India, the governments in combination with the corporate sector, are playing havoc with the five elements that constitute the earth, especially water, said Magsaysay awardee Rajendra Singh, who is also known as the Waterman of India.

Speaking to The Hindu here on Monday, Mr. Rajendra Singh said water bodies are being polluted and encroached rampantly.

“At the time of Independence, we had about 15 lakh water bodies spread across rural India, but since then, over 12 lakh have been either encroached or polluted,” he said. The impact is being felt now with about 72% of aquifers drying up.

He pointed out that the world was heading towards disaster, as water could be the main reason for the beginning of the third World War.

“There is forced migration due to shortage of water from Central and western Asia and from Africa. The migrants are moving towards Europe and this is will lead to a major conflict,” said Mr. Rajendra Singh.

Migration from India is also heavy, but so far this has mainly been voluntary or economic related.

Indians are welcomed as they are not treated as climatic refugees. But days are not far when they will not be given preferential treatment, he said.

“Till recently we have been associating global warming with gases, but now, the focus has shifted towards water,” he said.

“Due to lack of greenery, the climate has become erratic and the Indian farmers are unable to link up crop pattern with the rainfall pattern.”

Elaborating on his campaign ‘water is climate and climate is water,’ he said: “It revolves around six ‘R’s — respect for water, reduce usage, retreat, recycle, recharge and rejuvenate.”

If a dry district such as Alwar in Rajasthan can recharge its ground water, why can’t the others, he asked.

“It is time that we harnessed rainwater by constructing more check dams in catchment areas, do gully plugging, build more nala bunding and construct ‘V’ ditches,” he said.

In cities such as Visakhapatnam at least 80% of rainwater flows into the sea. “We can start off with rooftop rainwater harvesting, followed by reviving old water bodies and creating new ones. By doing so, we can harness at least 55% of the rain water,” said Mr. Rajendra Singh.