water scarcity in kerala (God's Own Country !!)

i would like to invite your attention to the water scarcity that kerala is going to face in immediate future.
its a disaster that a state with a very high rainfall, 44 rivers, around 7-8 backwaters and countless inland water bodies is facing a shortage of water. whats the reason for such a painful situation for this 3 crore population??
sand mining from the rivers which are the life lines of the state attributes the major reason..
it causes the death of rivers in no time..the lean rivers soon after the moonsoon is a heart breaking scene.
the most famous river of the state bharathapuzha is in its last days..
enroachment of rivers is another major concern. people with political influence are able to plunder the resources of the state with no hassles and there by leaving the future of the state at dark..
deforestation of the evergreen forests in the western ghats remains the prime cause as it leads to the disappearance of many a streams that fed the rivers during its early courses..many a tributaries are dying
due to de forestation there by causing a steady decrease in the volume of water flowing down stream...
reclamation of natural water bodies like lakes,swamps and ponds for construction activities add to the woes.
all these greedy short sighted atrocities is pushing the state into a very severe crisis in no time.

rain water harvesting is looked at as an immediate and effective method for this problem. but the state is yet to implement a concrete directive for the people on this front and the enforcement of such a vital step for preserving the water resources is a must. rite now some NGO s and some individuals are driving such efforts.but such isolated moves are far from what is adequate.

there should be some thoughtful decisions and centralised action from the government to avoid the agonies
this disaster is going to bring in...water scarcity is biggest of the social concern since it can drive an individual to a disturbed state of mind..and the society will sooner loose their harmony.

financially sound people are depending on borewells as the immediate solution for this problem and the number of borewells in the state is on a phenomenal increase...this is taking the ground water exploitation levels to an all time high there by draining out some of our last assylums ....


having said all these...its time for us to look ahead for an amicable solution...
i have a couple of thoughts which i felt feasible....
first and foremost is the rain water harvesting practise..state should sooner form a rain water harvesting policy and awareness programs for the common man. some of the state agenices should look for economically feasible rain harvesting methods for the society and families..

second is the revival and protection of the existing water bodies of the state...its high time for the state to
have a "water policy". under this..there should be programmes to protect and preserve the idenitified water sources of the state..there should be some surveys ( can easily get this done..by coupling it the project work
for the numerous engg students in state's engineering colleges. i believe its a pretty good number ). if a couple of engg college is each district can take care of identifying the water sources for the district..its pretty much done. the computer science students can come up with some data base management projects which can
digitalise and store this data and make it available for any further move in this direction..

there are 10 day social service camps organised by NSS (national service scheme) for the college students.
why cant they be diverted into the renovation of the identified water sources in bad shape?
if some 100 water sources are renovated and made good for use by the comman man in each district, it can be the perfect start for our "water preservation programmes". the youth who did executed the work themselves will be aware of the difficulties this problem is going to be bring on..and there is no other better way they can restrict or refrain from their "not so great" water practices .

i feel thats "Synergy" all about...it should be a novel experience for the upcoming youth and a breather for the state...

further focus should be on the usage of water for irrigation purposes and impose some regulations on that front as well. enforcement of law is the biggest challenge the state is facing since the whole govt machinery is
corrupt and so is the outlooks of its disciples. every one is interested in "round the corner" solutions that can benefit them ..and when the majority thinks that way..that becomes the normal routine :-))

i wish we'll sooner realise the magnitude of this problem and start working towards a better state....
jai hind !!!!

sudheer