Bearing the brunt of climate change

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Bearing the brunt of climate change

Wednesday, 01 March 2023 | Kavitha Rao

Bearing the brunt of climate change

Women are the worst sufferers of climate change. It is not an ‘Amrit Kaal' for them as they still have to toil hard

There is no planet B. Period. There can’t be a plan B either, where the climate crisis is concerned. Nature and its resources are limited and there is no way where we could ever outsource them. No resources, no plan B. A model of climate change on the computer and big talks and red flags will not help either. Globally, we are reaching a place where climate change will soon stop becoming a threat to it becoming a reality. It is no longer distant. It is here and is for real. And it exists on this very planet. Climate Change. Catch it if you can.

From melting glaciers to burning forests, rising sea levels, worsening floods, blizzards, ice storms, cyclones, droughts, pollution, sinking cities, and Changing seasons- the earth is running a fever. Global temperatures have increased. Mark Twain said, 'Climate is what you expect, and Weather is what you get.’ According to reports, Asia is on the verge of extreme heat, rising sea levels, growing losses from severe water, and increasing food insecurity in coming decades as climate change raises temperatures and alters weather patterns across the globe.

India is hyper-diverse in terms of its natural habitats, biodiversity, and socio-cultural ethos. With over a few billion people, we need to conserve our biodiversity and ensure human well-being. And we need to worry about it. The deadly heat waves indicate we need to become serious. Given the country’s large coastline, the sea level rise could become a disaster. Poor air quality is not only an urban problem but a rural one too. This gloomy blanket of air pollution has also clouded the vision of the Government at the helm. Just like the cracks that not only seem to have affected the state of Uttarakhand, because of digging for a project, there are some cracks in the system and its already fragmented and unclear policies as well.

While our Prime Minister and the Bharatiya Janata Party talk about development and Sabka Vikas, the untold truth is that we have destroyed our climate and our green cover for the sake of this ‘Vikas’ and ‘New India’. A lot of noise is being made around ‘Har Ghar Jal’, but the reality is flimsy and is building castles in the air. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union government only makes flimsy promises for environment restoration but, there is hardly any fund released for the same.

Our rural women still do not have access to clean tap water at home. They walk miles, away from her home and comfort zone, to ensure her household does not run dry of water. The rivers are drying up. The water reservoirs are empty. ‘Amrit Sarovars’ certainly do not have any ‘Water’ left in them. I am happy that our Prime Minister is worried about our mothers and sisters suffering and choking in the kitchens due to fuelwood smoke. The Ujjawala Scheme promises to give them LPG Cylinders. But have we succeeded? Our mothers and sisters are happy only on the posters. The reality seems to be different.

With the consistent effort of the Telangana Government, the forest cover of the state increased by 7% while the national average was only 3%. Further, talking about Telangana, many measures have been single-handedly taken for the agricultural development of farmer welfare, especially that of marginal women farmers, by the BRS Government. The Government under the leadership of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao has speedily completed the Kaleshwaram Project and provided irrigation water to make Telangana an acre farm, rehabilitating ponds through Mission Kakatiya, increasing the water storage capacity, raising the groundwater level, and implementing schemes like 24-hour free electricity supply to farmers. In the year 2014-15 we had 1 Crore 31 Lakh Acres, and by the year 2021-22 2 Crore 04 Lakh Acres i.e., 70 Lakh Acres of new cultivation and cultivable land.

Mission Kakatiya is an innovative program undertaken by the Government of Telangana to restore water resources. Most of the lands supporting the ponds have been brought under cultivation by rehabilitating the chain ponds and removing the silts, the groundwater capacity has increased and the water in the wells and boreholes has increased and is useful for double crop cultivation. Around 15 lakh Ayakattu have been fixed. The government has spent Rs.5,000 crores. Through Mission Kakatiya, the government has taken measures to divert water from large and medium-scale projects to rehabilitated ponds and make the ponds full spheres with full water storage even in the dry season.

Rising issues about individuals' mental and emotional health have also become a looming concern. The pandemic has only made us aware of prevailing gender-based violence, mental health, and physical abuse in families. It did not come with the pandemic, and, therefore, it will not recede with it. It is here because our surrounding environment is giving it a rise. The Central Government is taking a lot of pride in empowering the Nari Shakti. But this Nari Shakti is bearing the brunt of changing climate and the Government is not even ready to address that a problem like this exists. Let us not get into the game of numbers and data here, but the increasing crime rate, in BJP-ruled states, puts society at shame.  

While climate change does not discriminate, its effects do. It may seem bizarre, but climate change does contribute to deepening poverty, displacing population, and quick deterioration of resources. These effects take a huge toll on women and girls. Just by talking about Green Growth, we do not achieve it. We need to work on the ground, with viable plans.

UN figures show that 80% of the people displaced in the world by climate change are women. India is no different. This is a special year for India as we lead the G20 nations with Presidency. If we are not able to make strong, concrete efforts now, we will never be able to reverse the damage done. The time is now to act, to make our environment and climate safer for our mothers and sisters. This would then be the real ‘New India’, the ‘Amrit Kaal’ for our motherland.

(The writer is an MLC, BRS. The views expressed are personal)

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