WATER, WATER… EVERY….NOWHERE!

I woke up one morning. It was brightly sunlit. Nothing could beat the cool breeze on a sunny morning. I was all game to go through that day. With a smile, I put up a brave front to enter the hostel bathroom which, as one might guess, was stinking. I could see a few sunken faces. A big discussion was going on. I saw a few girls rush out to call warden. I wondered what had gone wrong.

A few of my brushing-time-mates who usually let the tap run, were holding mugs of water. I was bewildered. ‘Has everybody gone so water-conservative or what’ I thought. I turned the tap on only to find the tap make a loud noise. Air had replaced water! Oh god, no! I was already running late to college.

I heard girls say that the hostel water-tanks were all dried up and there was no water! I brushed my eyes to ensure I wasn’t dreaming. It had never happened in the history of my hostel. How could they run out of water! How would we bathe?!

We were asked to leave to college sans bathe! Thanks to perfumes, we saved ourselves and also spared the others from the horror (you know what I mean)!

At breakfast, since water was limited we were served only 2 glasses of water per person. “The nightmare would be over by evening” we thought. We found out as we went to college that there was no water in college either. The management was checking what had gone wrong. News channels started to talk about “Dry Vizag” which meant there was no water anywhere in Vizag. What an irony! The port-city, city of destiny has no water! Endless amounts of water to see (Sea) but not a drop to drink!

 We thought it was a bad prank played by someone and it would be over soon. We got back to hostel all thirsty in the evening only to find out there was still no water. Believe you me, this continued to the next morning too, and the next morning and the next one.

There was an exodus from Vizag. Nobody wanted to stay here. The water borrowed from other places like Hyderabad & Vijayawada didn’t last for long. Those cities needed water for their own needs. Surprisingly, rather shockingly all the rivers in India were reportedly drying out. Agencies reported that India would become the largest desert on earth in only a few days.

People had nowhere to go. People started to think about options. “If only we are given a second chance, we will never waste a single drop of water” they said. And the nightmare continued to be reality.

Well, all that’s written above, friends, is purely imaginative. But we’re not very far. This could happen in a few years to come. This could happen to our grandchildren, to our children or worse it could happen to us, which could mean there would be no children, no grandchildren and no tomorrow.

And I am surely not being pessimistic. I come from a place where this really happens. We buy water and we surely pay a heavy price. A family of four spends almost 2000 Indian rupees on water every month! We, in my place have nightmares of running taps, over-flow of over-head tanks. This could mean a rough day for us. We fear wasting even a drop of water. Every single ounce of it matters to us.

It’s very easy to keep the tap on till you finish your job. But is it “THAT” tough to turn it off and on as per need? Are we THAT lazy? I mean what stops you from saving water? We surely need a reality check.

I see many girls in my hostel leaving the taps on even when they do not use water; While brushing, while washing hands etc. It’s like even a bucket of water isn’t sufficient to clean their beautiful hands. This instigates an adrenalin-rush in me.  I go crazy. I run to the tap and stop it… I have even told a few girls not to do that. They hate me for it. Every time I see them now, they still leave the taps running at least to provoke me!

It is not about us, people; it’s about our future, our tomorrows, and our children. Think of it! When you have actually run out of all and any water that is available, there will be no turning around. That would be the end of it. Do you want to a worry-less tomorrow, at least a water-worry-less tomorrow? It’s your call. And mine. Let’s do something about it.

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