Can the Water Supply to Rural areas be Handled in Isolation

India is very rich in its water wealth- The water requirement, in terms of its resources, is insignificant to cater for the present need (eg. 1980). Demographers have predicted that by the turn of the century, the population of the country would be doubled. People should not be alarmed at this because of the fear of insufficient food, very low production rate, etc. etc. Technologically, India is on in way inferior to other developing and developed countries of the World. It is an asset for India.

What we need to do and the crying need of the moment is that we, Engineers and Technologists, should join hand in hand forgetting our discipline (Irrigation, Agri-Irrigation, Public Health, Environmental Engineering, etc. etc) and make a total Water Resource Survey. At the same time, we should take adequate measures to protect these water bodies against pollution. We also need to make assessment of the requirement of water under different uses attaching highest priority to the domestic use. We also need to make a common cadre for all the Engineers and Technologists and all these similar works be handled under a single Engineering Department. Multiplicity of Organisation I Department has made things worse since Independence, and no effective work in this direction has yet been made by any Organisation in and outside the Government, although many such Organisations have been created and are functioning without doing any productive work.

We assure you that there will be no dearth of water for the year 2001.