Groundwater

“Everything is connected”. I watched a docuseries named “Connected: the hidden science of everything” where a journalist named Latif Nasser investigates how we and the universe are connected. After watching this docuseries, I thought about it and tried gathering pieces of evidence regarding this connectivity around me over the past one year.

Extensive evidence of elevated arsenic in the food chain, mainly rice, wheat and vegetables exists.

Groundwater reserves are depleting at rapid rates in India, which is one of the world’s largest consumer of groundwater with it  providing 60 percent of the irrigation needs of the country.

According to a 2006 report by the Inter-Agency Task Force, titled ‘Gender, Water and Sanitation’, women’s participation in water governance projects is important for their success. Given the gendered division of labour in our society, it is not hard to see why.

Traditional groundwater storage structures such as cisterns, stepwells, tanks, and wells in India are well known and had cultural, religious, social, and utilitarian significance in olden times.

Groundwater levels across India have been falling rapidly, affecting the livelihood and wellbeing of village communities. Top-down approaches to groundwater management have not worked.

Uttarakhand glacier disaster: Death toll rises to 58 as rescue operation continues

The year 2020 came with numerous disasters, not just COVID-19, a pandemic that brought the planet to a standstill, but many other natural calamities. During the year, the country suffered from cyclones, extreme rainfall, floods and locust attacks.

“What should I do? I have been bedridden for two years now. My hands and feet do not work.

For a long time, villagers of Thanakasoga in Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh knew about the depletion of their drinking water sources and the thirstier future they faced. “We depend on bawdis and natural springs, from where we fetched water. By 2012, our springs were dying and could hardly cater to the local demand.