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| Large Artificial lake: JM Park, Lucknow Photo: By Author |
Water bodies, one of the important sources of groundwater, are gasping and dying a silent but painful death due to eutrophication. It is a process which causes the concentration of nutrients and thereby increases the growth of Algal bloom and hypoxia in the water - the chief cause of the death of biomes and ultimately of water bodies.
"Water conservation is the culture of our society and the centre of our social thinking."
-Narendra D. Modi
Last few years since 2019, the world witnessed the most severe catastrophe of the century in the form of COVID-19, which we commonly call Corona. The world, including the advanced developed countries like the USA and European countries like France and Italy, witnessed havoc. Millions of people across the globe died of Corona. The crumbling system and the death tolls insinuated a mass extinction that was around the corner. The pandemic was due to a virus, the origin of which is still debatable.
The nightmare has, albeit passed, but its spectre still haunts and occasionally rears its head. Thanks to the Government of India for their effective measures that helped contain the dreaded menace. Scientists and researchers burned the midnight oil to evolve an effective vaccine; the extensive immunisation drive quickly brought the whole nation under the vast umbrella of immunity against the dreaded Corona Virus. The unabated galloping of the pandemic brought it to a screeching halt; the death cases were effectively curtailed and new cases noosed down. Albeit, after a lull of a few months, the monster reared its head once again but the cautious people, armed with an effective double dose of immunization, intrepidly fought back and nipped it in the bud.
The Threat
The difficult time has passed, but that is not all. A yet another, rather serious threat is looming large. The scarcity of potable drinking water is hovering. Water is an elixir for life to sustain. A universal solvent, water is life-sustaining as it contains numerous dissolved essential micronutrients. Pointing towards the importance of water, former Prime Minister of India late Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee had said:
"India is amongst the wettest countries in the world, yet desert-like conditions are now prevalent in many parts of the country. We are fast plunging into a water emergency era."
He always emphasized water conservation and cleaning polluted rivers, lakes and ponds. “Conserve every drop of water”, he would say.
The Concern
The concern is not unfounded. Earth, also termed the ‘Terraqueous globe’, comprises land and water. About 71% of the earth's surface is covered with water; out of it, about 97% is in the form of oceans and seas. Despite its huge volume, untreated saline sea water is unfit for human use. Of the remaining 03 per cent, which is freshwater, only about 1% is available in a free state while the rest is locked as glaciers, water vapours and in the root zone of the soil. Freshwater comes to earth as rainwater through the water cycle. Most of our water needs are fulfilled by groundwater, collected and contained in aquifers by percolation of rainwater and/or other water bodies. This underlines the importance of lakes, ponds and other waterbodies like wetlands. An aquatic ecosystem acts as a cushion for pluvial floods and caters to the water requirement of the animate world.
Historical Perspective
Early humans realized the importance of water from the stage of their evolution when they shifted from wayfarers to become permanent settlers as pageants. They would make their settlements along the natural sources of water or rivers. Great ancient civilizations developed and flourished on river banks or in river valleys, for the vicinity of water had many advantages. It provided smooth means of transportation and a stable water source for their use. Indian people have been devout to pristine water bodies since antediluvian. They personified water as God and treated it accordingly. A child was taught not to use soap or detergent while taking a holy dip in sacred rivers.
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| River Ganga at Varanasi Photo: by Author |
A reverence for rivers/waterbodies/natural things used to be inculcated since infancy. Digging wells, ponds or lakes for water conservation and daily use was viewed with respect and as an act of service to humanity. Indus Valley people are believed to use water judiciously. The finding of a "Great Bath" and a well-developed drainage system in Mohan-Jo-Daro buttresses this belief. Mahoba in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh is known for its great lakes and water bodies, dug up to cope with the water scarcity by Chandela rulers of the time. Numerous “Baori”, wells, step-wells and lakes used to be dug by kingdoms and/or the wealthiest. Step-wells, especially in Western and North-Western parts of the country, are still a centre of tourist attraction and curiosity. Some of them have been declared heritage sites by UNESCO. Old Indian cities have a plethora of “Baori”, Ponds and lakes, especially in the areas of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujrat. The word “Baori” came from the Sanskrit word “Vapi” used widely in old scriptures and epics.
Importance of a healthy water body
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| Photo: By Author |
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| Photo: By Author |
Changing Scenario
The scenario, however, has changed. The water bodies are getting polluted; turning into a cesspool or dumping grounds for garbage, posing great health threats besides making water scarce. The lakes and water bodies are gasping, stinking and finally giving up the ghosts. In Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh and the sobriquet “City of Nawabs”, ponds and lakes of the Nawab era have either vanished or are on the verge of extinction.
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| Recently Renovated Pond at Hussainabad, Lucknow. Photo: by Author |
The dilapidated vestiges of brick-mortar structures built along the pond or “Baori” are the only thing left to remind their grand presence. “Buxi-ka-Talab”, “Tikait Rai-ka-Talab”, and “Chandganj-ka-Talab” are but only a few to name. Albeit some of them have been renovated and beautified, they appear as mere showpieces. The causes of fast-waning water bodies can rightly be assigned to the burgeoning population, fast-paced but haphazard city expansion and developmental projects created with myopic vision and parochial planning.
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| An artificial pond in a community park Photo: By Author |
Apart from the oft-quoted causes, the one which is very dangerous and acts like a slow poison is the process of “Eutrophication”, which slowly but surely kills a healthy water body. Eutrophication is derived from the Greek word “Eutrophos” which means well-nourished. The gradual saturation of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus in an oligotrophic water body leads to mesotrophication and ultimately to eutrophication. Excessive concentration of nutrients detonates algal bloom. The algae, mainly the blue-green algae or Cyanobacteria, proliferate fast and cover a large area, or sometimes the whole water surface of the aquatic body. It hinders light penetration in the water below them. Aerobic bacteria and microorganisms consume a lot of oxygen from the waterbody to decompose them after they perish. It, therefore, creates a hypoxic condition that leads to dead zones in the waterbody. Life becomes impossible in these dead zones where aquatic fauna and flora start dying en masse of asphyxia due to lack of Oxygen. The whole jeopardized aquatic ecosystem ultimately dies. It is a vicious cycle.
The question is, the excessive pollutants
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| Wetland at Nawabganj, Near Lucknow (Chandrasekhar Azad Bird Sanctuary) Photo: by Author |
come wherefrom and how? Chemical fertilizers, excreta and urban/industrial wastes are the principal contributing factors to eutrophication. The untreated sewage, field runoff, aquaculture ponds et cetera also contribute majorly to the problem. The increased use of fish and poultry feeds plus fertilizers to maintain verdure in star hotels and resorts are some other subsidiary factors that have a cascading effect and contribute significantly to the increasing concentration level of the waterbody they mingle with as run-offs. To cater for the need of the growing population and to maintain the level of luxury in hotels, playgrounds and other such places, excessive manures and water are used that ultimately rests in the water system above and below the ground level.
The fast expansion of city boundaries and pressing human needs have caused great harm to the ecosystem in general and water bodies in particular. Large public parks in cities with artificial lakes therein add their share too. The lakes which are made up of mortar lining are impregnable. The water they contain does not percolate nor do they get proper oxygen. Artificial lakes like the one present in a famous park of Lucknow require regular cleaning of silt and aeration of water. Because of heavy electricity demand, such work is seldom performed. The result is that defaced and dried-up lakes look like a large pits useful for nothing. The lake and pond need to be created naturally without plastering them. Extensive plantation all along the pond or lake is necessary with the plantation of aquatic plants not only improving the beauty but also adding a fair share of oxygen to the pond/lake and the surrounding.
Efforts to Mitigate the Problem
Considering the importance of water and its effective management, a new ministry was established by the Government of India. In May 2019, the Ministry of Jal Shakti Mission was constituted after merging the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation. The ministry was assigned the task of policy formulation for the development, management and conservation of water. The ministry's website informs that Headed by a Cabinet Minister, the Department of Water Resource, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation "...is also responsible for an overall national perspective of water planning and coordination in relation to diverse uses of water; water laws and legislations; addressing inter-State and trans-boundary water issues; bilateral and multi-lateral cooperation; and general policy guidelines and programmes for assessment, development and regulation of the country’s water resources. DoWR, RD & GR is also responsible for water quality assessment; rejuvenation of river Ganga and its tributaries and also conservation and abatement of pollution in other rivers."
Hon'ble Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi initiated the "Amrit Sarovar" scheme to revive the water bodies in "Amrit Kaal" of "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav". At least 75 such "Sarovars" are to be recharged in each district.
Effective check of eutrophication is possible only when the water bodies are not mixed with untreated sewage, pluvial runoffs and nutrients. It can be achieved by diverting the sewage to Sewage Treatment Plants rather than pouring them directly into the rivers and water bodies. With consistent efforts, the river and water bodies could be repristinated. The government is doing what it ought to do. However, as citizens, we need to fulfil our obligation too to hand over the baton of clean and green environment and pristine water bodies to our GenZ.
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| Sunrise at Lake - JM Mishra Park, Lucknow Photo: by Author |
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