Safe drinking water is the first priority, the most essential item or in other words the most immediate relief material among the people affected by the killer wave 'tsunami' in south-east Asia. The sea water had covered the whole coastal area during the tragedy killing in terms of lakhs. Water was everywhere but not a single drop of water to quench the thirst of the survivors for days. Cry for water in the waist deep water!

Everyone who has the geographical knowledge of the Earth knows that 70 per cent of the earth's surface is covered with water and land comprises only the remaining 30 percent of which human beings inhabited only in half of the land and the other half is not convenient for human habitation because of extreme climatic conditions due to excessive cold in the poles, extremely hot in the equator and presence of thick inaccessible forest in the tropical regions.

Again the sea water is not fit or totally unfit for human use because the sea water is super saturated with salt and other organic materials.

But the Mother Nature has her own ways of purifying the sea water for human and land animal use by recycling it in a process which we call water cycle which make life for the land inhabitants possible. Evaporation from the sea, the cloud formation, condensation and rainfall - this system maintain the perpetual supply of water, the elixir of life to man.

Then what is the reason for scarcity of water? Why has this grim veracity become a cause of concern all over the world? The answer is very simple, 'Lack of careful management'.

If the present trend of mismanagement of water cycle or system goes on for some more decades to come, then some parts of the world are expected to encounter severe water stress in the near future.

India, though happens to be in the monsoon map is also one of the countries which will be badly hit by the problem of scarcity of water by the middle of this century.

By 2020, it is estimated that over 100 million people will have to face problems of safe drinking water mainly because of the fact that the ground water level in the Gangetic plan is receding at an alarming rate, a region where people mainly rely on ground water from the tube well.

The North Eastern States of India, inspite of being the highest rainfall areas of the world are beginning to face a severe water crisis during the dry season. This can be primarily attributed to the rapid degradation and loss of forest cover including in the catchments areas of the river, which are nature's indigenous water reservoirs. These catchments areas have been exploited at random due to deforestation for supply of timbers, shifting cultivation, mining and quarrying etc.

This human activities definitely forewarns of the approaching danger of water crisis in the region where mother nature pour down cascades after cascades of water during the rainy season resulting in vast areas of the region facing severe flood in the rainy season and soon followed by drought of drinking water in the winter season.

For the present, let us keep aside the water crisis in other parts of the world or our country or our neighbouring States and concentrate more on the problem of safe drinking water in our State and more on our locality.

We are totally immune to the hardship faced by the hill people for drinking water (whether safe or unsafe) during the dry season because we, living in the plain are also facing the same. The difference is only that there are no rivers or lake in the hills and there are rivers, lakes and ponds in the valley but no proper arrangement for safe drinking water.

Manipur happens to be in the monsoon belt and is located in the vicinity of the highest rainfall areas of the world. The rainy season spreads from June to October and sometimes even to November. This shows that the rainy season covers almost half of the year.

The average rainfall is 150 cm at the least to 500 cm. But when the rainy season is over, the dry season associated with water crisis arrives on the heels of the rainy season.

The water level at the Loktak Hydro Electric Project goes down, one or two turbines in the powerhouse get relieved from work and there is increased frequency of load shedding in the entire Manipur. And apart from the abrupt cut of power supply the entire population of the valley save for those living near one or two major rivers have faced a reality that is 'drinking water'. In the land of the jewel it may be ironical but true.

A close study in this grim situation that happens almost every year confirms the fact that it is not the question of non-availability of water. It is a consequence of unplanned use and misuse of water coupled with total ignorance and lack of initiative on the part of the Government as well as the public to conserve water, resulting in the loss of huge amount of rain water that are flowing in the rivers.

At present, most of the people living in Imphal valley are fed by the waters from the Singda Dam, and some water reservations built in and around greater Imphal areas. But the fate of some water reservoirs beyond the greater Imphal area is very pathetic. Some reservoirs, which use electric motors do not function due to the want of power supply while in some reservoirs which use diesel engine motors, lay idle for want of fuel. No organized water management system has ever been made by the authority and no proper use of safe drinking water that comes through the pipes are done by the public as well.

There is a haphazard flow of water at the pipes and water is available free at some water points while some water points goes dry for months. And to the people, whatever that is available free is sure to be neglected and defiled and water that slip out from the cracks and holes when the pipeline is off thereby contaminating the water in the tap and what we call safe drinking water often becomes health hazards.

Coming to the end point, a concerted and sincere effort is essential among the Government officials, municipality authorities, NGOs and ultimately the people so that there should be equal and good supply of drinking water in the State and proper use of the same by the public.