Experts meet to debate water crisis

Experts meet to debate water crisis
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

MUMBAI, MAY 13: Experts met in the city today to participate in the final round of discussions on water crisis and its management before the World Commission on Dams (WCD) comes up with its report. The issues and suggestions discussed at today's meet will be compiled and presented before the WCD to be incorporated in their report on sustainable development.

Representatives from different parts of the country sat down to discuss the frequent droughts and floods, highlighting how the present crisis in Gujarat and Rajasthan, among other states could have been managed better. Himanshu Thakkar, member of the South Asian Network for Dams Rivers and People said: ``The ongoing drought is a government generated one, which is in no way connected to the Sardar Sarovar project. The drought was expected and yet nothing was done about it. This is the worst hydraulic drought the state of Gujarat has ever seen, with groundwater levels dipping to all time lows.''

While activists of the Narmada Bachao Aandolan (NBA) reiterated their stand on the Sardar Sarover project and it's requirement, other participants emphasised the need to revive traditional methods of water conservation. Shekhar Singh of the Indian Institute of Planning and Administration (IIPA) said: ``There are numerous examples in this country where traditional systems have been phased out and those are the regions that are worst hit by the drought. The culture of conservation of water in drought-prone areas has been lost after pipelines reached the villages. Groundwater levels are so low because no attention has been paid to the recharging process of this water source.''

Medha Patkar, NAB activist and one of the commissioners of WCD, added: ``The reasons for floods and droughts are the same. One of the biggest problems is that catchment areas are ignored. The priority should be to ensure that the requirements of people living near the catchment areas are fulfilled first. Also, communities should be given a rights so that they can decide their own future.''

The outcome of these discussions will be presented to the WCD, an organisation established to address the global issue of sustainable development. The WCD aims at facilitating a ``better understanding of the world's past and more recent experience with dams as well as alternative options for development''. As part of this exercise, the organisation is developing internationally acceptable criteria and standards for the planning, appraisal, construction and decommissioning of dams.