Gwalior Mayor Vivek Shejwalkar said that water is a finite resource and unless we take the looming water crisis seriously, the consequences of its scarcity will be more drastic than we think.
While speaking as the key speaker in a seminar organized by the Municipal Corporation to discuss about water conservation, Shejwalkar said that the rainfall has been meager during the last four to five years and that is one of the main reasons behind this water crisis. He added that the Tighara dam, the only freshwater reservoir in the city has just enough water to last till July.
While the city is already reeling under severe water shortage, the suburban areas are on the brink. Severe weather conditions too are adding to the concern, with temperatures expected to touch 50 degrees Celsius very soon.
The mayor urged the citizens to conserve water by whatever means possible. He added that there are many big and small ways by which one can save water at home. He appealed to the public not to wash their cars for the next four months and to reuse and recycle water wherever and whenever possible. He also said that while it is heartening to note that the public of Gwalior have become hygiene conscious, it is equally if not more important to be water conscious also. He asked the officials present to find ways to save the water that is being wasted through sewer and drainage pipes.
The Municipal Commissioner said that drinking- water scarcity has become a major problem in India and many other countries all over the world affecting the lives of millions of people. He appealed to the people not to waste and contaminate drinking water as this is the most essential natural resource on earth. Young school children too participated in the program by citing poems and slogans on water conservation and the perils of water shortage.