Unchecked growth adds to water woes

As summer sweeps, the sweltering heat reminds us of the now looming water crisis across the Indian urban landscape that swings between two extremes - capricious floods that paralyze cities overnight during monsoons and chronic water scarcity that leaves millions struggling for a drop during summer.

- J HARSHA

This paradox is most visible in metros like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and even in Kolkata, sometimes where water has turned into both a menace and a mirage.

In his book "10 Rules of Successful Nations", Ruchir Sharma, the Chief Global Strategist of Morgan Stanley, emphasizes the need for the spread of the rising wealth to the remote parts of the nation. He says, "Any lopsided ratio of the population between its largest city and the second largest city is abnormal". This finding offers a vital clue to the capricious water crisis of Indian urban areas.

In Maharashtra, the population of Mumbai, India's financial capital, is four times that of Pune. Down south in Karnataka, Bengaluru, hailed as the Silicon Valley of India, with a population of 12 million, has exceeded Mysore, the second most populous city, by 10 times. Hyderabad is 10 times more populated than the next in line, Warangal in Telangana, Chennai five times the size of Coimbatore, and Delhi, at over 20 million, is phenomenal in North India. Kolkata, the mega city of Bengal, has 10 times more population than Asansol, the second most populous city. The scenario is no different in other States.