Water Resources Test - 3

We instantaneously visualise the deserts of Rajasthan and women balancing many ‘matkas’ (earthen pots) used for collecting and storing water and travelling long distances to get water.

Given the abundance and renewability of water, it is difficult to imagine that we may suffer from water scarcity.

The moment we speak of water shortages, we immediately associate it with regions having low rainfall or those that are drought prone.

True, the availability of water resources varies over space and time, mainly due to the variations in seasonal and annual precipitation.

water scarcity in most cases is caused by over- exploitation, excessive use and unequal access to water among different social groups.

Freshwater can be obtained directly from precipitation, surface run off and groundwater.

Is it possible that an area or region may have ample water resources but is still facing water scarcity? Many of our cities are such examples. Thus, water scarcity may be an outcome of large and growing population.

A large population means more water not only for domestic use but also to produce more food. Hence, to facilitate higher food-grain production, water resources are being over-exploited to expand irrigated areas and dry-season agriculture

You may have seen in many television advertisements that most farmers have their own wells and tube-wells in their farms for irrigation to increase their produce.

Post-independent India witnessed intensive industrialisation and urbanisation, creating vast employment opportunities for us.