India's Water Demand Will Double By 2030 Indicating Severe Water Scarcity

Eminent scientist K Kasturirangan predicted that the water demand of our country will be double of available supply by 2030 and create severe water security. This could cause water scarcity in thousands of people and a 6% loss in the GDP. He warned that the agriculture's share of the India's total water usage needs to go down to below 50% and efforts should be made to preserve even a single drop of water.

The Niti Aayog's report last week stated that India is going through the worst water crisis. Around 60 crore people are facing high water stress and 2 lakh are losing their lives each year due to unsafe water. 70% of the water in India is contaminated which places India at 120th amongst 122 countries in the water quality index. There are countries where water for the agricultural usage accounts for 40% to 50% of the total water usage. India's agricultural usage needs to come down from 80-85% to 50% or less. We need to ensure that water bodies in the country are rejuvenated properly. According to other independent reports, India's groundwater is severely depleted. Kasturirangan suggested to completely stop the exploitation of groundwater. Taking examples of Punjab and many other states, the economy simply collapsed due to the situation. This clearly shapes the things for us if we don't take appropriate solutions now. Each drop of water has to be collected, preserved and managed.

By: Neha Maheshwari

Content: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/by-2030-indias-water-demand-to-be-twice-the-available-supply-indicating-severe-water-scarcity-report/articleshow/64679218.cms