In the middle of all the things that mainstream media keeps itself
busy with, there are several positive items that have been but a blip in
the information deluge. Such as this news this morning that the Government has banned import of plastic waste,
tonnes of which end up in India for recycling. India itself generates
many more tonnes of its own plastic waste, clogging its water bodies and
entering its food chain. Similarly, India's turning into a dumping ground for the developed world's electronic waste, which, frankly, we can do without.
What I am most keenly watching is how we manage water. Historically, India has been horribly underprepared to deal with its environmental problems, and now when the water crisis is becoming more real by the day, this under-preparedness manifests itself in Sewage treatment plants never built, industrial waste norms never enforced, or billions of liters of monsoon rains never stored.
Take the case of The Ganges, a water body that has a documented history of thousands of years, is a dying river. Such has been the lack of intent in this country to protect the river that even after spending billions of Rupees over many decades, we don't even have accurate data measurement in place. As you read this, 5000 Million Liters of untreated domestic sewage, and 500 Million Liters of toxic industrial effluents, enter the river EVERY DAY.
As always, there remains hope that this Government will perform when previous governments have failed. By next year, it has committed to build Sewage Treatment Plants in 118 towns on the river. If they can deliver, it would bode well for the rest of the country, where 80% of all surface water is polluted, most of which is from domestic sewage.
Just as importantly, though, there is a growing realization that this is not just the Government's job, and a participatory approach is perhaps the most impactful way in which India can tackle its environmental pollution issues. In fact, its perhaps the only way. After all, its not a Government that litters, its you and me, and I think that is why one of the most important deliverables of the national campaign, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, is that it will take its message to the classrooms.
While in the long run, climate impact, population growth, rising consumption will make it tougher and tougher for this society to sustain itself as it is today, society though, I feel, has a seed for resilience that just might force it to start looking for solutions when adversity really, really stares us in our faces.
What I am most keenly watching is how we manage water. Historically, India has been horribly underprepared to deal with its environmental problems, and now when the water crisis is becoming more real by the day, this under-preparedness manifests itself in Sewage treatment plants never built, industrial waste norms never enforced, or billions of liters of monsoon rains never stored.
Take the case of The Ganges, a water body that has a documented history of thousands of years, is a dying river. Such has been the lack of intent in this country to protect the river that even after spending billions of Rupees over many decades, we don't even have accurate data measurement in place. As you read this, 5000 Million Liters of untreated domestic sewage, and 500 Million Liters of toxic industrial effluents, enter the river EVERY DAY.
As always, there remains hope that this Government will perform when previous governments have failed. By next year, it has committed to build Sewage Treatment Plants in 118 towns on the river. If they can deliver, it would bode well for the rest of the country, where 80% of all surface water is polluted, most of which is from domestic sewage.
Just as importantly, though, there is a growing realization that this is not just the Government's job, and a participatory approach is perhaps the most impactful way in which India can tackle its environmental pollution issues. In fact, its perhaps the only way. After all, its not a Government that litters, its you and me, and I think that is why one of the most important deliverables of the national campaign, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, is that it will take its message to the classrooms.
While in the long run, climate impact, population growth, rising consumption will make it tougher and tougher for this society to sustain itself as it is today, society though, I feel, has a seed for resilience that just might force it to start looking for solutions when adversity really, really stares us in our faces.
