NEW DELHI, October 7: Most of the experts at World Sustainable Development Summit here recommended efficient rainwater harvest system and proper conservation of water by developing required infrastructure for proper water management in the north eastern region, one of the wettest places on planet, to provide drinking water to its population of about 44.98 million, about 4 percent of India’s total population.
“I think you should write more on this issue as your region requires efficient rainwater harvest system besides enhancing conservation and storage facilities,” says Country representative Dr Alok Sikka of International Water Management Institute, a scientific research organisation focussing on suitable use of water and land resources in developing countries. “We’ve been in Mizoram and Meghalaya. So we know the potentials there.” Dr Alok conveyed his recommendation when his views on the ongoing drinking water crisis in north eastern states were sought on the side lines of a discussion session on ‘Water: challenges and opportunities’ in the ongoing first World Sustainable Development Summit held under the aegis of The Energy and Resources Institute on Friday.
Sharing a similar sentiment, chairman Dr A Ravindra of Centre for sustainable development and Institute for Social & Economic Change appealed to “capture the rain water” for sustainable development in the North East region which gets high rainfalls of around 2,500 millimeters on an average.
Dr Ravindra, who is the former Chief Secretary of Karnataka, also expressed the need to have coordinated efforts and systems to plan for proper supply of water to the needy people through a “holistic approach” in order to avoid wasting of water.
Interestingly, the NE region where one of the major rivers of Asia, Brahmputra also flows, often sees devastating floods during monsoon. The hilly terrain region also faces water scarcity as there isn’t much water retention due various factors.
“We’re also taking up certain projects in Assam considering the water issues in the region where flash floods are prone during rainy days,” says Program Leader (Water & Sustainability) Dr Geneviene Connors of World Bank India office.
According to India Water portal, only 21% of households in NE have access to tap water as though the main drinking water source in the region is hand pump/tube well (45% of total households) against the main drinking water source is tap water (44% of total households), followed by hand pump/tube well water (42% of total households) at the national level.
Assam, the largest state in NE in terms of population, has better numbers compared to other states in the region with 50% of rural households having access to a water source within premises while Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland have less than 20% of rural households with a drinking water source within premises.
