On the Public Record- Water issues in UP, citizen’s point of view.

- Udit Singh;

M. Tech, IIT Kanpur (Environmental Engineering)

Brief about Uttar Pradesh Water Resources: Uttar Pradesh is a very rich water resource state of India. Location near the Himalayas makes it more water abundant. The soil of UP is also very sensitive to moisture, makes it suitable for producing a wide range of agricultural food products. Agriculture and Animal Farming is the main source of income for approx. 75% population of the Rural UP, making UP highest quantity milk producer in India. UP is also a good exporter of Sugarcane.

The Problem from the public perspective: Since 7 decades, UP saw a series of unplanned urbanization and heavy industrialization that ignored conservation and proper management of water of UP. Whether its Rotting Yamuna water or Holy Ganges water pollution or water scarcity in rural and urban areas are the biggest water-related issue for UP. In villages water for agriculture & safe drinking water and for urban areas sewage management & safe drinking water is the biggest challenge for the local governing authorities of UP. To protect our ground and surface water from the water pollution from toxic industrial effluent, we need a smart and scientific water management approach. The groundwater is polluted with Chromium, Uranium, and Fluoride on the other side the ponds & rivers are polluted with domestic and industrial wastes. The effect of polluted water is that we will get all impurities thorough food and drinking water to our body and we will get increased medical bills, immature deaths and loss of biodiversity. Let’s take the example of Unnao District. The district is facing sewage water management problem, tannery effluent problem, safe drinking water problem along with solid waste (create groundwater pollution) & high air pollution problem. All pollution problems (including) is due to unplanned industrialization and urbanization. We lack scientific planning of cities and towns.

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The Solution: The problem is not so complex but we made it complex by neglecting it. We should stop blame games and need an immediate action to conserve our ponds, wells, and rivers along with groundwater and protect them from contamination. If we connect environment losses of water to our economy, by which we can create awareness among the public. Suppose if we are successful to quantify if we waste 1 kg of groundwater, then how much rupees to be spent to get it back to the ground. The government should install smart wastewater, sewage water, and irrigation water treatment plants to the affect areas.

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