Guest column: Wake up before all great Neptune’s ocean empties

Potable water inundating the streets and going down the drain is a colossal waste! The water crisis is not just an issue to be raised in global summits or national symposia but it is the common man’s concern as well

‘To err is human...’ is a timeless adage. It seems human beings have grown fond of their follies and have an unfortunate penchant for repeating them. We are rudely shaken out of this complacency over and over again by some calamity or the other, yet we always sink back into our old habits.

Poor pedestrians have to hopscotch their way or fume silently as a passing vehicle drenches them in a muddy spray. (Representative Image/HT File)

Poet and satirist Alexander Pope’s prophecy, “Sole judge of truth in endless error hurled” rings true , especially when it comes to the water crisis, which is looming large on a global scale. However, we seem to be intent on turning a blind eye to it. Each morning the cleaning fever grips our colony. The educated seem putty in the hands of their maids. Pipes are connected to taps, the motor is turned on and a water canon is aimed at each nook and corner: swish-swash, broom-broom.

Heaven forbid that a mobile call or passerby interrupt, as an animated gossip session ensues with the free-flowing pipe abandoned. Sheer wastage! The concatenation effect is so strong that the entire neighbourhood is engulfed in no time. While the floors and kitchen slabs gleam in homes, the mucky puddles outside the gate are nobody’s concern. Poor pedestrians have to hopscotch their way or fume silently as a passing vehicle drenches them in a muddy spray. That’s not all, stagnant water attracts stray animals and is a breeding ground for all sorts of germs and pests. As far as the damage to street roads or creation of potholes is concerned, one can always blame authorities. Where a bucket or two would suffice, we splurge significantly more.

Moreover, these days almost every house has a fleet of vehicles and a hired help is employed to scrub it. The omniscient water pipe makes an appearance and all vehicles are unscrupulously doused. A liberal rub of detergent, followed by high-pressure spray would certainly leave vehicle shiny and spick and span, but few can empathise with the aftermath. Why not visit a washing station instead? Resources will be recycled and wastage minimised. A swipe on your vehicle, akin to a caress, will certainly be a loving gesture as well as exercise for our limbs.

Any protest falls on deaf ears. Reasoning is lost in the “dreary desert sand of dead habit” and one is labelled reclusive and unsociable. Try hard as one may, it is impossible to make people understand.

Potable water inundating the streets and going down the drain is a colossal waste! The water crisis is not just an issue to be raised in global summits or national symposia but it is the common man’s concern as well.

Not so long ago, everyone was running frantically from pillar to post to procure life-saving oxygen. The pandemic is a clarion call for humanity to mend its ways. While ‘all great Neptune’s ocean’ could not wash Macbeth’s hands, at the current pace, we will pretty soon not be left even with the proverbial chullu bhar water to drown in.

kalrasuruchi@yahoo.com

The writer teaches English at Hindu Girls College, Jagadhri