This time the monsoon arrived in Kerala late by a week, while coming to central India, it got delayed further. But in a week itself, many states received many times more water than the average rainfall. Haryana recorded 49.1 mm of rainfall in the last week of June, which is many times more than the average rainfall of 17.5 mm. It has rained on 17 out of 30 days in Delhi. For the first time since 2011, it has been cloudy for so many days. Similarly, this time the rainfall in June has also been 37 percent more than normal. Kolkata received 40 mm of rain over eight hours on 29 June, which is more than 15 per cent of the month’s normal rainfall within a 24-hour cycle.
Our meteorologists have already warned that this time there will be irregular rains due to the effect of El Nino. The first climate change assessment report prepared two years ago by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, has warned that the effect of increase in temperature is wreaking havoc on India’s monsoon as well. The country’s summer monsoon rainfall (June to September) has declined by about six per cent from 1951 to 2015. During 1981–2011, 27 per cent more dry days were recorded in the summer monsoon than in the 1951–1980 period. Drought-prone areas are increasing in the country due to the increasing heat and less rain in the monsoon in the last six decades. The area affected by drought is increasing by 1.3 percent per decade. But in spite of adequate statistics, estimates and warnings, our country has not yet been able to adapt the monsoon to the changing weather. Neither we could adopt such water conservation measures, nor could we build roads, bridges and canals. Most awareness is needed in the field of agriculture, where farmers are still sowing according to the traditional calendar.
In fact, our thinking about water has been wrong since the beginning. We were told that rivers, canals, ponds, lakes etc. are sources of water, in reality the only source of water in our country is monsoon, rivers and lakes etc. are just places to save it. Earth is inhabited by living beings only because of water, but we do not appreciate the arrival of monsoon, instead of saving its blessings, we ourselves destroyed it. Monsoon is not only a rainy season, it is essential for soil moisture and dense forests, the only way to control temperature and also a period of reproduction, food, displacement and regulation of thousands and millions of living beings on earth. As soon as the monsoon departs, there will be a fight for every drop of water in many areas of the country, and then it will have to be seen closely whether the water has expanded on our land during the monsoon or in fact we have occupied the natural periphery of the water expansion. Have deposited.
The fact is that there are only three types of climate in India – monsoon, pre-monsoon and post-monsoon. Due to this, the climate of India is called monsoon climate. The main basis of India’s public life, economy, festivals is the mood of rain or monsoon. It would not be an exaggeration to say that monsoon is the pivot of India’s existence. Farming-greenery and year-round water jugaad depend on this rain. Despite this, when nature gives its blessings in the form of these drops, the society and the government start projecting it as a big villain. The real reason for this is that the tradition of honoring the monsoon is ending in our country.
The irony is that we are ready to reduce a few liters of water for our needs, but not to conserve the water received from the monsoon, but we ourselves block its way. The ponds, stepwells and wells which save the excess water of the rivers are missing. Then the dams built for saving water and for its multipurpose use, costing billions of rupees, decades of time, even after displacement, are not able to contain even a little rain. If the mountains, trees, and the earth are left open in harmony, then the land will save the water necessary for us throughout the year in its own womb.
We are neither serious about protecting the natural treasures of our monsoon mood, changing rains with changing weather, saving rain water, nor do we want to learn anything new. The whole water system rests only on ground water, while it is well known that ground water is not a safe source of drinking water. Monsoon is no longer just geography or meteorology, it has a lot to do with it including engineering, drainage, sanitation, agriculture. In view of the changing weather, monsoon management should be thoroughly studied in our society and schools as well as in engineering courses, in which there should be chapters like not only water in monsoon, but also crops related to it, proper management and conservation of water drainage in cities. . Especially on the management of crises arising due to sudden rains.
(These are the personal views of the author.)
