इस बार शिमला, सोलन जैसे शहरों में पानी ने बहुत तरसाया,
                            नहाना तो दूर रहा पीने को भी जल बेहद मुश्किल से मिल पाया.
                            अब आने वाले सालों में मित्रो गहराएगा जल संकट और भी ज्यादा,
                            किफ़ायत बरतें, प्रदूषण रोकें, पेड़ लगायें- आओ हम सब करें यह वादा.

      

     Palampurwalo: Are we using water responsibly?

                                 

Climate change is now well and truly upon us. It is impacting our lives with mounting severity with every change of season. Dust storms that invaded the plains of North India just last week not sparing even our cool and green Himachal, are being seen as a new ‘deadly’ normal. Forest fires this summer have been unprecedented. Never before in my life have I ever seen the Dhualadhar turned into such an inferno with plumes of smoke willowing up from its forested slopes at so many places. Never before such a chilling scare ran through the spine that at this rate the jungle fires might a day too soon extend their reach and engulf our dwellings, our streets and towns. Imagine: 3000 or more hectares of valuable forest area has been devastated by the fires this summer.

Speaking of civic amenities, Shimla remained parched and thirsty for more than 8 days. It took the full might of the government and the High Court’s active intervention -  the CJ had to wake and walk late in the nights - to put things in order. Though the water scarcity is partly man-made, in a wider perspective, it is our melting glaciers, shrinking green cover and depleting water bodies that are at the root of it. Unsustainable urbanization far beyond the carrying capacity of towns - Palampur is no exception – has compounded the misery even more. But for some welcome showers, neither the forest fires nor the water scarcities would have been combated fully by human efforts alone.

And now the foot falls of monsoon are approaching us fast. Normal monsoon as predicted for this season in fact translates into heavy rains for most parts of Himachal – our Kangra valley more particularly so. A couple of cloud bursts have already struck Chamba and other places. So dear friends, brace your good selves up for more such news:  landslides, tree falls, floods, deaths, destruction, horror and devastation. I know I am being boringly repetitious but I feel time has come now to call a halt to this massive plunder of our natural resources in the name of development. Time has come to seek nature-friendly, alternative, non-exploitative models of development.

Reverting to water scarcity, Shimla-like situation is waiting to hit Palampur. Have we drawn any lessons from Shimla? I think we can begin by using water responsibly. I have decided not to wash my car (which even otherwise I seldom wash at home) unless absolutely necessary and that too with minimal use of water: after all it is potable water we are using in the absence of any recycled water being made available for such purposes. No watering of lawn. I already do so very very sparingly but henceforth I leave it to the mercy of rain gods. As for kitchen gardening, our simian cousins (monkeys) have already seen to it that we don’t indulge in this activity any more. Flower pots?...yes. But let’s water them without spilling off water. Using bucket and a mug is more sensible than using an old, leaking water-can (फब्बारा). Then I don’t keep the tap running while brushing my teeth or when shaving. And post Shimla crisis, I no longer press the smaller flush button every time I visit the loo to pee. Instead, I use the hand jet for short, quick flushing which is quite effective and economical as well. As far a bath or a shower, recalling Shimla, I do so with utmost economy and care. Further, a disgusting sight of a public tap running full over an already overflowing bucket, or a water tank at a construction site, is not uncommon. When I bump into any, I mouth the juiciest Punjabi swearwords and make sure to turn off the tap. One thing more: whenever I find any water supply pipes leaking – quite often damaged by a passing truck – I get in touch with the IPH officials and ask them to repair it. I reported one such case of a badly leaking pipe on Wednesday, the 13^th of June, near the road diversion to Aima’s waste treatment plant, and to my joy, found the leaking pipe in order on my walk next morning.

                                     
Well, I know this is not going to solve Palampur’s impending water problem. But these small little ways make me feel like a responsible citizen and embue me with a sense of belonging to my town; I feel happy. And  being happy – in these small little ways - is what life (for me) is so much about!

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