Water & Society-A story of mutual co-existence

Water is an integral part of every life form’s existence right from birth till death! It is undeniably touching our lives everywhere. Life is unimaginable without it. Various examples in which society is linked to water are drinking, cooking, farming, performing rituals, recreational activities, generation of electricity, and even transport etc.

Water is ever evolving which has witnessed civilizations, their transit, growth and disaster. It forms the core basis of our religious traditions and ethos. It symbolizes the culture of our society which was built around water bodies to prosper and sustain. Societies have connected through water networks which later spread out and trade began.

Nobody can divide water neither can they own it! But what nature gave to humanity in its purest form was not retained over a period of time. It was exploited, polluted and used in ways which later couldn’t adhere to regenerate herself! As a consequence of our mutual co-existence clean water became scarce. Inadequate availability of water to cater to the growing demand of population and unequal distribution of water resources created conflicts. Water bodies were polluted due to indiscriminate dumping of solid waste, sewage and industrial effluent. Still in many parts of India, people wait or walk for hours for fetching drinking water. Currently, society needs to adapt to sustainable water management. A classic example for interface between water and society is the watershed management. Rejuvenation of our water bodies with appropriate landscaping is the need of the hour.

Water is a celebration of our ethos, pure joy, fun and frolic! It’s the harbinger of peace and life forms! Let’s celebrate water in its purest form! Let’s conserve it!

Author: Deepa Gupta,Ruchi Rami Patil,Sireesha Sudhakar Patnaik ; DRS Research and Consulting

All images courtesy the Author

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