Bhopal, March 22 (IANS) In the summer of 2010, the tragic murder of 18-year-old Poonam Yadav over a dispute about tap water in Indore cast a grim shadow over Madhya Pradesh, highlighting the severity of the state’s water crisis. While such extreme incidents have not recurred, daily skirmishes over shared water sources persist, underscoring the urgent need to address India’s dwindling water resources.
This crisis, with its dire implications for agriculture, public health, and human survival, demands innovative and localised solutions to reverse the alarming trends of groundwater depletion.
Groundwater depletion threatens to undermine progress, affecting over 40 million Indians annually through waterborne diseases and the stunted growth of millions of children. Initiatives aimed at reversing this trend are making strides, but the scale of the issue demands innovative, localised solutions.
On Friday evening, In Madhya Pradesh, a state often plagued by erratic rainfall patterns, a bold resolution emerged from the aisles of the Legislative Assembly during the ongoing Budget session. A Bharatiya Janata Party member (MLA) Ashish Govind Sharma proposed an ingenious plan to install water harvesting systems along the roads which are to be constructed in the future.
His vision includes recharge pits placed at intervals of 5 km, effectively capturing rainwater during monsoon seasons and directing it underground. This strategy aims to rejuvenate groundwater levels, offering relief to farmers and rural communities struggling with drinking water shortages, said the member.
Aligned with this proposal is the ambitious Jal Jeevan Mission, extended to 2028. Initially targeting tap water access for all rural households by 2024, the program has already provided clean water to 68.4 per cent of surveyed households in Madhya Pradesh.
The state, with a significant share of India’s 600,000 villages, remains a focal point for this Rs 67,000 crore mission. Villages face setbacks due to depleting groundwater and maintenance hurdles, revealing the dire need for complementary measures like Sharma’s resolution.
Of the total 1,11,79,195 surveyed households 68.40 per cent or 76,46,460 households have been provided tap water in Madhya Pradesh as the dashboard, Jal Jeevan Mission portal displayed.
However, challenges remain, including infrastructure failures and depleting groundwater sources. To ensure success, recharge pits have been integrated into future road construction plans, focusing on areas with naturally low water levels.
The state’s rainfall patterns have mirrored its water crisis — deficits in monsoon precipitation have exacerbated groundwater depletion, except for rare years of surplus rainfall.
As reported by the Central Ground Water Board, Madhya Pradesh received 9 per cent less rain than normal in 2024, continuing a troubling trend that further highlights the importance of such initiatives.
Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla and Parliamentary Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya have championed these measures, emphasising their alignment with urban projects and rural needs. The assembly, then, cleared the ‘resolution.’
–IANS
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