We have been reading since our childhood days that water is a very precious unit of life. But our various practices are leading to scarcity of water all over the world. Every year different parts of our country face water scarcity problem and they are forced to live without water for more than half of the year. The scene is the same throughout the world.

The state of Tamil Nadu has been facing serious water issues in the past few years. Tamil Nadu government has announced 17 districts which are hit by drought and the most unfortunate thing is that the metropolitan city Chennai also comes under it.

Water issues in Chennai

Chennai is one of the busiest cities in India. It has a huge population making for the heart of southernmost India. The scarcity of water is making the life of the inhabitants’ extremely difficult. They have to do without enough water even for their daily basic activities. But what is the reason behind this massive emergency situation? There are enough reasons for this water scarcity and the people of Chennai have to add to it the most.

Every third house in any locality in Chennai is digging a bore well. This results in the lowering of the water level. With the level of water falling little by little every passing day, this acute situation of water scarcity has raised. Almost 75% of the houses do not have water even for drinking, leave aside other activities. Half of the drinking water available is contaminated, therefore making the situation worse.

Some precautionary measures that can still help to conserve water

It is surely in the hands of human beings how efficiently they can use the precious gifts of Mother Nature. Below are some precautions that can help you fight the acute situation of water scarcity. If you can start practicing them then this worse situation can be avoided to a greater extent.

• Use water sustainably - do not leave taps running while washing your hands or brushing. People tend to leave the tap open throughout their brushing process which wastes a lot of water every day
• Fix all the taps that are leaking- any leaking tap can waste a huge amount of water in a single day. Fix them as soon as you notice them faulty
• Reuse water - water from kitchen or filter should not be thrown away, instead, they can be used for watering plants or washing cars
• Start conserving rainwater- rainwater is considered to be the purest form of water. Every year Chennai witnesses a good amount of rainfall which if conserved can serve for a good long time
• Shop as much is necessary- this may sound a bit odd but almost every item in the world needs water in its production process. So efficient use of everything is very important

No life on earth can survive without water. Therefore, necessary steps should be employed in conserving this precious gift from nature before it is too late.

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