Janakpurdham: Environment and ecology experts have underlined the need of properly managing the water crisis deepening in Madhes without any delay. They have warned of imminent crisis of water in Madhes if measures are not timely and carefully placed. At a dialogue event on water crisis held here today in the ongoing Janakpurdham Literature, Art and Drama Festival, the experts cautioned towards possible deep crisis of water due to uncontrolled exploitation of Chure, haphazard infrastructure development and lack of citizen awareness. Engineer Ajaya Dixit said depleting water level or drying up of water resources in the river basin like Madhes is not a minor thing so it is urgent to take stringent measures by analyzing natural phenomenon of raining. Water crisis is deepening across the globe and the Madhes in particular is likely to face its adverse impacts, he said, calling for the people to brign changes in the pattern of water consumption. "The natural pattern of rain has changed, it used to happen in the past, but lately there has been no rain in Madhes even in June. The ground water level is constantly declining. On the other hand, there has been a change in our traditional habits of running a routine. The problem can be worse if we don't manage water as per the changing natural patterns and behaviour of the citizens," Dixit said. Dr Bijay Sharma suggested paying attention to the conservation and management of groundwater without any further problems. He pointed out the need for the concerned bodies entrusted with the responsibility of water management to collect water from the lower level and other bodies to work in such a way that there is no tampering in the water recharge system. Engineer Ratneshwor Lal Karna said that more than 90 percent of the hand pumps and wells in Birgunj and Hanspur municipalities of Dhanusha have dried up. He urged all not to take it as normal as the rivers are drying up and the level of groundwater is also decreasing. Conservation campaigner and Madhes Province Assembly member Ram Ashish Yadav opined that the state's haphazard development policy in Tarai Madhes has increased challenges in environmental protection and its impact on water resources. According to him, the structures like Chure Hills, East-West Highway, Mid-Hill Highway and Nijgadh Airport, which have been constructed as per the development policy of King Mahendra, have disturbed the eco-system. "Despite being rich in more than 6,000 rivers, four large snow rivers and the world's second water resources, there is a water famine in Nepal, which is a matter of concern," Yadav said. It is everyone's responsibility to work towards it. Chure conservationist Nagdev Yadav urged the stakeholders to take into account the sensitive relationship between Chure, Mahabharata and Himalayan range. Stating that the Himalayas would also be in crisis due to the desertification of Chure and Mahabharata, Yadav said that the mountain range could be protected and water scarcity in Madhes could be met only if chure, which is the base point of all these, could be protected. Environmental activists Shalini Sah and Suresh Sharma expressed concern that women and children would have to bear the maximum impact when a person needed 70 litres of water a day. Journalist Anil Karna, who is also the moderator of the session, urged the stakeholders to think seriously about the argument of the first President of the Republic of Nepal, Dr Ram Baran Yadav, noting if the Chure could not be protected, Madhes would become desert and the future generations would have problems in protecting their existence.
Source: National News Agency Nepal