Recently we all might have read about ‘The Ice Bucket Challenge’, a campaign which went viral across the world. This campaign was initiated to raise donations and awareness about ALS. Even in India, many people including eminent actors partook in this activity. But how many of us have read and ponder on a recent report in a newspaper highlighting the fact that, in 2012, every second woman in rural India walked an average of 173 km a year to fetch portable water. This report clearly revealed the condition of rural India and constant depletion of water resources. Mostly rural people are dependent on ground water which at most of the times is contaminated. Since this activity of fetching water from far flung areas is very time consuming, it takes toll on family economic condition as well because many of these rural women work on daily wages and live hand to mouth.
Looking at the state of our country, the question arises here is that can we afford to waste gallons of water just for a campaign when so many people in our country living in drought and struggling for a drop of water? Why do we need to follow everything blindly? Can we not formulate our own campaign for this noble cause where we need not to waste gallons of water? Otherwise also how many of us, who are living in cities, give a thought before wasting water unreasonably in washing our cars, swimming pools, fountains, while shaving, bathing, running water while brushing etc. Looking at the present condition of our country, we should think ways to conserve water in every which way possible. Through water conservation we will not just help and save ourselves but it will be beneficial for our future generations as well. We should not think that what change will come through our actions alone, rather we should think how our actions can contribute to the whole since every drop of water counts.