We have been told that life began in water in the form of amoeba. History suggests that many of the famous earlier civilisations were river valley civilisations which developed on the banks of rivers. Thus, there was the Indus Valley Civilisation on the banks of river Indus in India, the Nile Valley Civilisation of Egypt, the Chinese civilisation on the banks of Hwang Ho, and around Euphrates and Tigris in Mesopotamia. The reason was the growth of agriculture as the source of human sustenance. It was easier to avail irrigation facilities due to proximity to the river. Why these civilisations declined may be a subject matter of major historical research, but the one basic conclusion can be the significance of sources of fresh water for human sustenance. History, it is said, has its own course of action and it is still not clear whether the change of the course of rivers, or natural calamities of enormous proportions or even widespread epidemics were responsible for the decline of ancient civilisations. But the important thing to ponder over is the importance of the availability of fresh water, fit for drinking, agriculture and life per se. While the human societies all over are aiming for more sophistication in science and technology, and achieving it also, the one factor that is not being given due importance is the geography, the ecology, and most importantly, water. The journeys of man to Moon and Mars and even further, do speak of the greatness of human endeavors, but the looming water crisis stares humanity directly in the face. Water covers around 70 per cent of the earth but all that is not the kind we drink, bathe with or use for irrigation. Only three per cent of water in this world is fresh water of which two third is frozen. So, there is very little water available for human requirement. Naturally, large sections of the population of the world have no access to water, whereas even larger numbers have to face acute scarcity. Water systems that keep the ecosystem livable are under stress. If we ignore the challenge of water scarcity, humanity may have to struggle for water by the end of this century. The scary scenes of places like Cape Town may become a reality in large part of the world. Countries like India having large population with high density and fast growing urbanisation are already vulnerable. Around 70 per cent of small rivers have dried up and 40 to 45 per cent of the population finds access to water a major problem. River water issue is just one problem. What further compounds the issue is the flow of effluents in the large rivers. To make things worse, the rampant deep bores have stressed the ground water sources which are drying up. In fact, the scenario is scarier than what one can imagine. The irony is that the severity of water scarcity issue is not getting the due consideration it calls for. Campaigns like Clean Ganga have not picked up the pace that is required. The problem is that the common man is not involved in the water conservation campaign. Water scarcity is the problem of the common man and his participation is vital. Without people’s participation, efforts to conserve water and save rivers may not be effective. There is need to realise that water is going to be the greatest crisis of the present century if we do not wake up.

Pathak is a professor of management, writer, and an acclaimedpublic speaker. He can be reached at ppathak.ism@gmail.com