Water crisis - where did the article miss out : ET, 18.6.2018 editorial pg.10, Delhi ed.

ET, 18.6.2018 pg.10, Delhi / Patna edition 

Words used in the original article:

perverse- deformed, विकृत

gratis -free of charge, मुफ्त

granular- grainy, अनाज-सम्बंधी

(Note: See the full article in the newspaper or e-paper.)

Discussion:

The  second article in the editorial is based on a report of Niti Ayoga is a nice one. It does not only enumerates the nature of the imminent water crisis in a scenario when the water table is falling down day by day but also suggests the ways how to tackle this. It has also ranked the states on a water management index and surprisingly mentions only the states which could secure higher places in that index. Those states are Gujarat and Rajasthan. The states at the bottom of the list have not been mentioned. It rightly laments the poor technique used in agriculture sector and mentions that 52% of farming area-wise is still dependent on rainfall. Even while 80% of usage of water is for agriculture the performance on water efficiency measures is the lowest in the world. Only 50% people in rural area has an excess of safe drinking water supply. At present  two-fifth of water supply nationally is from groundwater and the water table of more than half of them are going down more and more.

Now the points worth noting is how we can avoid this menace.  Yes of course there are ways- water user organisations should manage their demand judiciously to ensure optimal use of each drop of water. Less water consuming seed varieties should be used, ensuring that groundwater levels should be recharged adequately and prohibition on  unlimited water sucking from the ground may be effective in avoiding national crisis in future. 

The article is brilliant as and you gains broader perspective after reading it still it does not mention how we can help in recharging water. Perhaps avoiding  wastage of rain water and channelising them to fields rather than the river might be the answer. The more important issue on which the article has missed out is while fixing the responsibility. it prefers to single out merely agrarian sector whereas we all know that the urban sector is as more a culprit. 

Words used in the discussion:

enumerate- count, एक-एक करके बताना

lament- deplore, विलाप करना
menace - danger, खतरा

agrarian sector - farming sector, कृषि क्षेत्र

culprit - offender, अपराधी