The world is going crazy about the Ice Bucket Challenge and
frankly, I think it is lame. Upping and pouring ice water over the top of your
head...doing it for a cause...all well...but has the society really gone that
insensitive? I personally know people who have taken up the challenge for their
facebook pages, for creating videos and uploading the same...to be counted in
the millions who are trending and cool!
I was hardly the kind of person who would think twice about
something like this, to go one step ahead and write my views on current topics
was not something I ever fathomed myself doing. And yet here I am, eager to
talk about what all I can see and how I find it wrong on so many counts. And
today, I want to talk about Ice Bucket Challenge…reason…a thoughtless, stupid
comment by a thoughtless adult!
Here’s what happened, a certain someone on LinkedIn
mentioned how people are dying due to shortage of clean water and wasting water
in the ice bucket challenge is so wrong on so many counts! To this thought (which
I personally feel is rather apt for a country like India where clean drinkable
water is fast becoming a scarce commodity!) a certain young princess turned
around and shared her own wisdom…stating that water is not wasted and 100%
water is recycled! Really? Is that your answer? That I am not wasting clean
water…I am simply pouring it in the drain for it to be recycled? Do people
actually understand the gravity of the situation we humans are in?
Let me share some facts and figures for the enlightened few!
According to Dr. Pradipto Ghosh & Dr. Girija Bharat, India faces an ever
increasing deficit of drinkable water resources. The country that houses nearly
17 percent of World’s Population has a meager 4% share of the world’s water
resources. Furthermore, adding to the woes is the unequal and rather erratic precipitation
(thanks to the increasing pollution and decreasing forest cover) which is not
even harvested properly (read the water is not replenished in the system!) The
ground water level is decreasing at a rate of 10 cms per year (those who think
this is not too shocking please ask the residents of capital city of Delhi who
have constantly drilled the earth for more water and found nothing? Only to
drill deeper still!). And last but not the least… Over 70% of surface water and ground water resources are contaminated. (The
inspired and inquisitive few can read the full article at http://southasia.oneworld.net/peoplespeak/water-woes-shortage-or-wastage#.U_2JscWSzco).
Now back to the brilliant people…here’s a fact – we have
water but water worth drinking is not in plenty. Here’s another fact – we are
polluting water and contaminating our resources and then spending millions of
rupees to ensure we get drinkable water and wasting more water in turn. Now
here’s a thought…people taking the ice bucket challenge…who pour ice (in all
probability made from drinkable water) over their heads…are you truly doing
your bit for the community? You want to help people…spread awareness…don’t go
wasting water by pouring it over your heads…remember…it would not automatically
find its way to a person’s tap…the process is long, requires us to be vigilant
and active…water is never wasted…but pure drinkable water…
Really people…stop wasting water…even if you are among the
lucky few who never witnessed shortage and can afford expensive purifiers…don’t
waste it for you did nothing…NOTHING to give back to the eco system.
