* Vijay Garg
The old ponds, wells, stepwells, johads, tanks or lakes not only saved the rain water in their heart, but the water stored in them slowly penetrated the earth and helped in maintaining the ground water level. But unfortunately the modern concept of development ignored this truth and filled the lands of these ponds.
With the onset of summer season, news of water crisis starts coming out from different parts of the country. The same is happening this time as well. Take the example of Kota city of Rajasthan. The city is situated on the banks of Chambal river. But many settlements of this city have faced water scarcity. The situation is that in many settlements, people have to stay awake throughout the night to meet their needs with the help of water dripping drop by drop from the taps.
According to a report recently, groundwater has reached the Hadoti area of Rajasthan. Western Rajasthan is desert and water crisis is not new there. But in the south-eastern part of Rajasthan, the Hadoti region is known as the Sarsabj region. Apart from rivers like Chambal, Kalisindh, Parvati, Parvan, Ahu, Takli, Ujad, a dozen small or tributaries flow in this zone. During the rainy season, when these rivers overflow, then the arrival of water in them is known.
Despite this, if the groundwater level in the area has gone down to the ground and people are not getting enough water supply, it only means that we have lagged behind in water management. Hadoti is the only example, more or less the same story of water crisis in most parts of the country.
At one place in the Mahabharata, it is said - 'Ati parichad avadya bhavati'. The same has happened with water. Two-thirds of the Earth's surface is covered with water. That's why many people feel that when there is so much water all around, then what to worry about? Maybe some people think so. But such people forget the fact that less than two percent of the total water present on the surface of the earth is usable by man.
Even today, a large part of the world is dependent on rain or flow of rivers for drinking water. Science may have entrusted us with new levels of progress, but till date no laboratory in the world has been able to make water to meet the needs of human beings. Countries such as Israel have claimed to make seawater potable, but their technology is either too expensive or so obsolete that the practice has not become popular in the world.
In such a situation, it was necessary that we save those resources which provide us drinking water throughout the year. Apart from rivers, water resources like lakes, ponds, wells, stepwells, tanks, johads can be kept in this category. Our ancestors knew that water is the most important need of life and any carelessness of its conservation can push the existence of generations towards crisis. That is why in ancient Indian beliefs, the construction of a water source was considered very virtuous.
Kings, seths and powerful people built grand water resources to keep the memory of some important occasion of their life intact. One of the grandest stepwells in India, 'Rani Ji Ki Vav' is located in Anhilwara Patan, Gujarat. In the memory of King Bhimdev I, this stepwell was built by his queen Udayamati. This stepwell is now included in the world heritage. The famous big pond of Bhopal, located in the capital of Madhya Pradesh, was built by Parmar Raja Bhoj in the eleventh century in an undertaking to get rid of a skin disease.
During the war, the ancient rulers used to build special reservoirs in the forts and forts to keep their subjects and army safe from the enemy. The world famous citadel of Chittor had eighty-four reservoirs. The huge lakes of Rajasthan like Jaisamand and Rajsamand were built in their own era under the scheme to provide employment to the people during the famine. The water stored in these lakes later encouraged the area to fight famine for a long time. Who can understand the value of water better than people living in desert areas? In western Rajasthan, not only were wells constructed to bring out water by breaking the chest of Hades, but special arrangements were also made to protect the purity of these wells.
There is a pond in Jaisalmer - Gadsisar Talab. Before the rains started, the whole city used to gather for cleaning this pond. The king himself used to be present with the people for Shramdaan. It was considered a crime to pollute the water of this pond. Even today, there are such water bodies in some villages of the country whose water is not easily forgivable to be polluted.
Ancient Indian beliefs also do not consider it auspicious to make water bodies dirty. But time changed our priorities. When the population of cities increased, markets and settlements were established by bridging the old ponds. Worshiping the well was considered an important ritual for many of our festivals. The core of this tradition was to acknowledge the welfare role of a well, which holds water for our needs within itself. But when water reached homes through taps, people left the wells neglected. This is the reason that today most of the ancient wells and stepwells in the country are littered with dirt.
The old ponds, wells, stepwells, johads, tanks or lakes not only saved the rain water in their heart, but the water stored in them gradually penetrated the earth and helped in maintaining the ground water level. But unfortunately the modern concept of development ignored this truth. The modern concept of development has bridged the lands of these ponds.
Somewhere settlements have been settled, somewhere markets have been made, then railway stations and don't know what. While the means of enriching groundwater were exhausted, tube wells were dug in places to provide water to the public in the late 1970s, which arbitrarily dumped underground water out. As a result, the level of groundwater reached the ground.
There have been reports from some parts of the country, in which it has been told that even to fill a small pot of water, women and children are forced to risk their lives and plunge into the deep well and reach this well. Even for this they have to go far away from their home in the scorching sun. Conflicts over water are fierce and violent for similar reasons.
In such a situation, it is necessary that we understand the importance of making good use of water and storing rainwater. Sensitive people are active all over the world to create the consciousness of saving water because in the absence of water all the claims of human progress will be meaningless—The Hawk Features
* Vijay Garg Retired Principal Malout