Ludhiana Mahesh Sharma Mandi Ahmedgarh, May 9 The administration has taken serious note of rampant misuse of potable water by residents.
The Local Bodies Department has warned against the alleged misuse of drinking water for washing vehicles, floors and watering lawns directly with pipes.
A letter issued by special secretary of the Local Bodies Department reads, “At present many states are facing drought like conditions which has compelled people to migrate to other states.
However, some residents are misusing water for washing cars and watering lawns with pipes.” The communiqué further states, “In view of the acute scarcity of water it becomes our duty to use water in a conservative manner.” Officials at municipal councils, nagar panchayat and village panchayats have been directed to impose heavy fine on the violators.
A penalty of Rs 1,000 will be imposed on first time violator and Rs 2,000 for second violation.
Moreover, water connection will be disconnected if the violation takes place for the third time and the connection will be resumed at the cost of Rs 5,000.
Executive Magistrate Badal Din said executive officer at the municipal council Kuldeep Singh Bhogal has been advised to constitute teams to nab the offenders and impose fine on them.
President Municipal Council Suraj Mohammad said that councillors have been asked to make residents aware of water scarcity issues.
“The message has also been conveyed to the people through public address system,” he said.

Himachal Shimla, May 9 With water scarcity plaguing the “Queen of Hills” even before the onset of the summer, the hotel industry has sought the help of the government to ensure the regular and adequate water supply.
“Though hoteliers are trying to meet their demand through water tankers, with the supply being given on the fifth day, it is getting difficult for us to run our units,” said MK Seth, president of the Tourism Industry Stakeholders Association.
He added that the situation was so grave that it could result in the collapse of the hotel industry as business was down by almost 50 per cent as people were avoiding coming to Shimla.
There are 268 registered hotels in Shimla, of which 61 per cent have less than 15 rooms.
The number of rooms on the suburbs is also quite big.
Reports about the water shortage hitting the town were also adversely impacting the tourism.
Some travel agents too admitted that many small hoteliers were turning away walk-in tourists as with the current water situation, it was not possible for them to meet the requirement of all guests.
“We are catering to the guests who have done online booking with the help of 2000 litre tanker which is costing almost Rs 3,500,” admitted Seth.
They point out that there is a booming growth of such flats in and around the town, which is hitting the hotel industry.
The flats are being booked online by people.

Authorities such as the municipality call it a seasonal phenomenon.
Water shortage, both for drinking and irrigation is a national issue but it still fails to make it to the national agenda.
The country, especially the urban centres are today reeling under housing and water shortage, an issue that persists despite claims of efforts being made to address them.
That residents of Thimphu municipality receive 60.93 percent of drinking water against the required quantity shows that the water distribution system, if there is one, is as good as defunct.
When the problem continues to exist despite huge budget being allocated to fix it, we have to accept that those who are tasked with the responsibility are the problem.
We have heard the authorities blaming the seasons, drying water sources and infrastructure development among others, for the water shortage.
It is time we accept that we have not done a good job in setting up the infrastructure that ensures continued drinking water supply.
A lack of concerted efforts to address water shortage in rural homes has fuelled the fear of irrigation water running short, its impact on the fields and the livelihood of the farmers.
While the 12th Plan has identified it as an area of priority, there is a need to review the roles and responsibilities of the agencies that are involved in the management and distribution of the resource.
But such is the issue with the resource.

The Western Cape water crisis is one such example that requires different actors to collaborate with an objective of minimising the impact of water shortage on both communities and businesses.
It requires common action to stave off the disastrous impact of Day Zero now in 2019.
Informed by this reality, working with the Western Cape Provincial Government, Green Cape and other critical stakeholders, PPC recently hosted an industry workshop in Cape Town to explore ways through which industry players can contribute to conserving and preserving water while sustaining the local economy.
With this appreciation, government’s message for the industry is “to reduce water usage as much as possible without affecting production”, Solly Fourie, Head of Economic Development and Tourism, Western Cape Provincial Government.
Failure to manage the impact of the water shortage will have a significant negative impact to the economy of the Western Cape and its people.
In our view, we need to save water and grow the economy at the same time.
Our approach to water management is driven by a few principles including: Responsible water management- to avoid causing harm to the environment or communities where we have operations Optimal water usage to generate short and long term value Management of quality and quantity of water Ensuring and promoting compliance with the legal and other requirements In the Western Cape we have specifically implemented measures to mitigate the impact of the ongoing drought and have employed alternatives from an operational perspective to ensure continuity of supply.
Over and above the measures that we undertake in our own operations, we have developed some guiding tips to encourage responsible water use on construction sites.
The industry has been encouraged to measure and manage water usage and also to investigate alternate sources of water for construction like: Ground water Basement water ( City building sites) Treated effluent Run off water The government and the NHBRC have committed to work collaboratively to allow ease of use of the alternative sources of water for construction.
In truth, no single company has all the solutions to our current crisis, and thus it is important to share lessons and experiences, and to have unity of purpose.

The meeting was attended by senior Board officials, who discussed the proposal in detail.
The Board has approved a budget to the tune of Rs 2,350 crores under the plan and Rs 2,787.63 crores under non-plan expenditures for the year 2018-2019, a statement from the DJB stated.
The DJB will invest Rs 30.61 crore in Bawana to reduce water scarcity in the area.
The focus of the DJB will be to repair the sewers in all the areas of the national capital and improve the water supply, especially in localites where there is water shortage.
Where water scarcity is more, the government will order extra pipelines.
The Board will also focus on the improvement of water supply and laying new pipelines to reinforce the water distribution system in the city.
“Consent to the work of rehabilitation of peripheral sewers in Uttam Nagar, Paschim Vihar, Saraswati Vihar, Moti Nagar and adjoining areas in West-North, West Delhi at an estimated cost of Rs 102.23 crores was given by the Board.
The above project will benefit the whole population of the said segment,” it added.
After the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) order, nearly 700 borewells have been shut down in the city, leading to an acute water crisis in the national capital.
According to the Board, the city has more than 5,000 borewells on which the department will take action soon.

Fewer still have entertained the prospect of a time when water is neither cheap nor ubiquitous.
Top-down policies and precautionary measures might offset the problem but what is needed is a shift in public perception.
Currently, water is viewed by too many as plentiful and dispensable rather than an essential and precious resource.
Its usage in Abu Dhabi is currently rising by 9.5 per cent annually.
It behoves us all to limit our personal consumption by taking measures such as having shorter showers and not leaving taps running to ensure this country never falls victim to acute water scarcity.
The UAE’s primary water sources are groundwater, desalinated water and treated wastewater.
The former accounts for 51 per cent of the country’s needs but the ancient aquifers that house it are rapidly emptying.
Some shrewd action has been taken.
Yet if consumption continues to rise, these steps could prove limited.
Water scarcity is one of many environmental challenges facing countries in this region and beyond.

NEW DELHI: More than 700 illegal borewells have been sealed in Delhi following a National Green Tribunal order in January this year, leading to water scarcity in various parts of the national capital and complaints from area residents.
Dwarka, Vikaspuri and Janakpuri are among the areas where borewells have been sealed.
The move has led to water scarcity, despite the DJB sending filled water tankers there.
The Delhi government’s current water policy commits 20,000 litres of free water per month to each household.
"So they asked DJB to mark them red, indicating that the chloride content is very high," she said, adding, the authorities will seal all illegal borewells among those marked red.
Saxena, however, said the sealing process was "difficult" because when the officials started sealing the borewells, the summer season had started and the DJB was facing reduced water supply.
"DJB isn’t able to fulfil the basic need in Dwarka sub-city, due to which people had to use un-regularised measures," Kartik Mohana, a Dwarka resident, said.
"Navratan Bhakta, from Dwarka, said a few officials visited her society and sealed borewells "right away without saying anything".
Few societies showed them some contracts and were saved from sealing.
If they want to seal borewells then they should provide us water.

Singapore is a country with a population of 5.6 million.
Water supply in Singapore In the initial years of nation-building, Singapore faced droughts, floods, and water pollution.
They have a well strategized and robust system of water supply called the Four National Taps comprising of (1) Water from Local Catchment, (2) Imported Water, (3) Highly-purified reclaimed water known as NEWater, and (4) Desalinated Water.
The rainwater gets accumulated in the canals and flows down to the reservoirs and is then treated for drinking purposes.
Singapore is one of the few countries to harvest urban stormwater on a large scale for potable consumption.
Desalinated water Singapore is an island country.
Currently, there are two desalination plants with a combined capacity of 100 mgd that can meet up to 25% of Singapore’s current water demand.
Water conservation efforts by PUB By 2060, Singapore’s water demand is expected to become double the current 430 million gallons per day.
Campaigns such as save 10-lits of water a day also encourage citizens to decrease their water utility by 10-lits a day and teach them the importance of water conservation.
With efficient water management, conservation efforts and efficiency, Singapore has set an excellent example for the world to see.

In Namibia’s stark Namib Desert, where I spent 18 months doing research for my Ph.D., wildlife concentrates around natural springs.
Increasingly, animals there also rely on man-made ponds intended for livestock.
People have used plants and animals as environmental indicators for many years.
Similarly, fish and other small aquatic organisms can be effective bioindicators of water pollution.
Therefore, scientists often resort to biological indicators, such as aquatic insects and fish, to assess water quality.
Even the most desert-adapted species need water.
To find high-quality surface waters, people could observe bat activity levels using acoustic detectors to record bats’ echolocation calls.
During my time in Namibia, I observed that activity by all local bat species dwindled at springs with high salt concentrations.
If this is true, people living in those areas could detect changes in water quality, such as increased salinity, by gauging activities and drinking patterns of sensitive bat species.
This article was originally published on The Conversation.

On the occasion of Maharashtra Day -May 1- lakhs of residents or ‘Jalmitras’ will be coming out to work shoulder to shoulder with villagers as a part of Aamir Khan’s the Paani foundation, which aims to combat the drought in the state.
Satyamev Jayate, Khan’s TV show that started in 2012, focused on issues that required social change.
The response to the show was phenomenal as people from various walks of showed keenness to make a difference.
They zeroed in on the issue of water scarcity and decided to work in Maharashtra, thereby starting their non-profit, Paani Foundation, which aimed to spread knowledge about water management and groundwater replenishment.
Villages are assessed on watershed management and water conservation works for the competition.
The secret is Aamir‘s unique charisma that serves as the glue to enthuse and bind the people.
Each competing village then sends five representatives, including two women, for training.
The four-day training includes technical as well as repair and maintenance training.
The Paani Foundation arms the representatives with solid technical resources.
The Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR), based in Ahmednagar, is Paani Foundation’s knowledge partner.