________________
doubling every five years. Lakhs of people vanish and are rendered homeless. Property worth crores of rupees is destroyed due to floods or dry-spells. It is a well-known fact that deforestation and drying of ponds and lakes due to pollution have been enhancing the process of flooding. Floods are becoming more devastating, as experienced in Bihar and China. Flood control Departments have to become more effective and pro-active. 6) Water Management in India:The whole system for the management of this precious but cheap commodity has to be scientifically evolved and implemented to match Indian conditions. Community driven decentralized management of water and its forests suits India better. Water is to be considered as a joint property of the society. Every drop of water is precious. It has to be utilized efficiently and prevented from going waste. The attitude towards, water has to undergo a sea change. Children have to imbibe the habits of respect and conservation towards water as is highlighted in our holy books like Vaidas etc. Certain facts and figures about consumption of water in India are interesting:(i) Availability of water per capita per annum is less than 2000 cu.
meter. (ii) If population in 2050 grows to 160 crore, the availability will
decrease to 1000 cu. m/year/person. The pattern of consumption would be as follows:
Consumption Surface Water Underground Water Total Agriculture
344
807 Household
111 Industry
24 Energy
14 Others 732 428
1,160
463
46
57
81
70
91
91
Total
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
