Though a large part of the earth is covered by water, we experience its scarcity in major parts of the country. Explain.

Nearly 4 per cent of the global precipitation is received by India. The total renewable water resources of India are estimated at 1,897 sq. km per annum. Despite this fact, scarcity of water is experienced in major parts of the country. It is predicted that by 2025, large parts of India will join countries or regions having absolute water scarcity.

Some of the reasons for water scarcity are as below:

(a) Geographically, some parts of India like the desert region of Rajasthan receive low rainfall and are drought-prone. Thus, water shortage is a common and regular problem of such regions.

(b) The metropolitan cities of India like Mumbai and Kolkata face acute water shortage due to large and dense populations. Their urban lifestyles require more water and power consumption. The multi-storeyed buildings and housing complexes or colonies have their own groundwater pumping devices which lead to over-exploitation and depletion leading to water scarcity.

(c) In industrial areas, water gets polluted due to the discharge of untreated waste into the river bodies. This makes the freshwater unfit for consumption.

(d) In regions which are agriculturally advanced, water resources are being overexploited so as to increase production.