You don’t understand the importance of water until your well is dried up!

Ajendra grew up in the Gangetic plains, where water was abundant. In ancient times, water was a key factor in deciding where to settle, with people often choosing places near rivers, lakes, and seas. I believe northern India, with its many rivers, is one reason it’s so densely populated.

However, this blog is about my personal experience with water scarcity, particularly in Vasind, a suburban town in Maharashtra. According to the United Nations, around 2 billion people worldwide are experiencing high water stress. In India, over 600 million people are facing water scarcity. United Nations 6th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) highlights the importance of clean water and sanitation.

I live in a housing complex managed by Tata Housing, 2 hours away from Mumbai. Here water used to be supplied for just 10 minutes in the evening during the summer. For someone living alone in a 1BHK (bedroom, hall, kitchen) flat, it was manageable. But one day, staying alone became my biggest challenge.

In my rush to leave the house and get to school on time, I forgot to turn off the kitchen tap. I had opened it earlier to wash dishes, but the water wasn’t flowing as usual. Later in the day, the water was released, and I was at school attending a self-development session when I realized the mistake. The society secretary, not missing a beat, confronted me, saying, “You all come here, waste our resources, take our jobs. Why don’t you just go back to your ‘Pradesh’?” He didn’t stop there; he even demanded to see my rent agreement papers.

This story with water started long before that summer incident. When I first wandered around the area, I saw people washing clothes in canals and was puzzled. I thought they were too poor to afford a proper water connection. Little did I know that in just two months, I’d join them, taking a bath in the same canal. Taking a shower under the open sky with abundant water was an enjoyable experience. It reminded me of bathing in the Sai River back in my hometown as a child. But I hadn’t learned the lesson yet.

In May, I planned a trip home for the summer. I hadn’t had a proper bath for 3-4 days. The canal water supply had been cut off from the dam ahead of the rainy season. Eventually, I had to take a bath from a well in the locality before catching my train back to the city. Unfortunately, I didn’t close my bathroom tap properly before leaving.

On the third day at home, while I was bathing, I received a call from my neighbour, Prakash, who informed me that my tap had been left running. When I asked for proof, he sent me a WhatsApp video showing the water flowing from my tap. Realizing the gravity of the situation, I had no choice but to give them permission to break into my room and fix the tap. It was an incredibly awkward moment, and I couldn’t help but feel guilty for the waste. It was a moment that truly made me realize the value of water. As a neighbour once wisely said, “You don’t understand the importance of water until your well is dried up.” This fellowship experience has taught me the true importance of water in sustaining life.

The World Bank estimates that India’s water demand will double by 2030, but the country is already facing a decline in water availability per capita, down from 5,000 cubic meters per person per year in the 1950s to around 1,500 cubic meters today. The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) has warned that by 2025, 21 Indian cities, including Delhi, Bangalore, and Chennai, could run out of groundwater.

As we celebrate World Water Day on March 22, I hope this blog inspires people to conserve water before all wells run dry!