Wateronomics

 Where rivers are, there civilizations grow . That is ancient wisdom, much testified to through ages. Look at our own Ganges. Once you meet her at Gangotri jumping eagerly across boulders like a naughty girl, once you hear her at the "panch prayag" confluences amidst the mighty, magnificent Himalayas, once you see her shimmering across at Rishikesh, you understand a great principle to live by. 'Where there is will, there is a way', her bouncy flow reiterates with a guiding gurgle. 

She indeed is Ganga Maiya. Yes, she is the legendary source of life and benediction as narrated in the Bhagirath myth.  In contemporary times, this holy river relates to economic realities as well, however unholy but real!

An article in the "Down to Earth"  asserts that the Ganges basin (which is spread across many northern states and effectively borders many north-western states) houses forty five per cent of the country’s population, accounts for forty four per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and twenty five per cent of India's coal fleet, apparently.

This article by Madhumita Paul quotes the findings by the CWR, a global thought leader. According to this report, the Ganges shares the fate of all the rivers that originate in the Hind Kush Himalayas, known as the HKH. 

Let me quote directly from the article. The article maintains that the Ganges basin, like all the basins of all the ten HKH rivers, faces a ‘triple threat’ to its future — insufficient water for development, the impact of climate change on water resources, and the concentrated risks in river basins. This situation puts hundreds of millions of lives and trillions of rupees worth growth projects at risk, it seems. 

For a country like ours, at the cusp of making history, a river is not merely a source of potable and/or farming water. It has many more financial facets such as power generation and as a core content in many industries. 

The report states that the Ganges basin is experiencing huge urbanisation which creates complex problems. Moreover, given the climate change realities, sea waters are rising, causing a tangible threat to such urban centers as Kolkata, for instance. Given such water stress, the need for water economics map, says the article. 

In other words, in our much troubled times, our rivers are threatened, too, given the economic realities, especially when we share the water resources with hostile neighbours. Rivers, as gifts of nature, no longer remain merely holy. They are currents along which flows water (as) economics!

Pratima@ The 'Namami Gange' mission is not merely a holy concept. Rather, it has to have financial facets!