Born and brought up in a village on the bank of Buckingham Canal, imaging a water stressed region was difficult. This McKinsey report is disturbing as the bridging measure appear in-feasible.
By 2030, under an average
economic growth scenario and if no efficiency gains are assumed, global water
requirements would grow from 4,500 billion m3 today (or 4.5 thousand cubic
kilometers) to 6,900 billion m3. This is a full 40 percent above current
accessible, reliable supply (including return flows, and taking into account
that a portion of supply should be reserved for environmental requirements ). By
2030, demand in India will grow to almost 1.5 trillion m3, driven by domestic
demand for rice, wheat, and sugar for a growing population, a large proportion
of which is moving toward a middle-class diet. Against this demand, India’s
current water supply is approximately 740 billion m3. As a result, most of
India’s river basins could face severe deficit by 2030 unless concerted action
is taken, with some of the most populous—including the Ganga, the Krishna, and
the Indian portion of the Indus—facing the biggest absolute gap. The report
lists many measures to reduce demand and increase supply.
As per this report, the biggest
additional source for water is National River Linking Project (NRLP)- will it
ever take off? I first heard of reversing course of river during visit to Chicago and American civil engineers achieved this feat in year 1900- how admirable.
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