8. Water

Water is an inalienable resource for all kinds of life on Earth. Fast-developing urban population and ever-increasing industrial activities added with negative effects of climate change have made availability of adequate and suitable quantity of water a subject of intranational and international strife in many parts of the world, solution of which, at times, appear elusive. The oceans contain 96.5% of the water in the hydrosphere in the saline state. Only 2.4% is fresh water, but 87% of it resides in ice caps and glaciers. This means much less than 1% is available for the biosphere. Availability of this water is highly variable in space and time. Penetration of ground water and accumulation of surface water in drainage basins and wetting of the land are effects of a complicated hydrologic cycle. It is notable that 95% of the liquid fresh water available is ground water in reality. Natural and anthropogenic pollution of ground water (and locally surface water also) is a menace in different parts of the world. Saving water resource is a loud cry today. Best way of doing it is by minimizing domestic and industrial consumption, recycling used water after proper treatment, making direct use of rain water, going for more scientific irrigation and reducing loss during transport through pipes. Desalination of sea water is a far cry for general use at the moment. Water crisis is an acute problem in India. We should resort to as many of the above means as possible to restrain it before long. The usefulness of the river-linking proposal in India is still considered dubious.