Manmeet Singh Gill Amritsar, June 18 Amid worldwide concerns regarding depleting water table, mainly due to overdrawing of groundwater by farmers for paddy cultivation, water wastage due to leakage in pipes and taps has been going unchecked at public places in the city. Concerned residents say it is the duty of the government as well as people to check wastage of water. “If a water pipe is leaking day and night, it wastes more water than is required to irrigate a paddy field. We can find such water wastage in our homes too,” said a visitor to the Company Bagh where a water hose had a leakage. Water wastage at washrooms of government buildings is also a concern. At Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, taps can be seen missing or leaking in several washrooms, resulting in a large quantity of water going down the drain every day. The leakage of water at public places and misuse of water for washing cars and floors is also prominently seen in cities. Despite the ban on washing of cars, people can be regularly spotted doing so without any regard for the norms. A farmer, Joginder Singh, said, “These days it has become a fashion to criticise farmers for everything bad, including pollution and depleting water table. Farmers draw water to irrigate their crops and it cannot be termed a wastage.” He said that though government could come up with policies to decrease area under paddy, it should also keep a check on water wastage in houses and commercial buildings. Though the government had earlier delayed the start date of paddy transplantation to June 20, it was relaxed this season and farmers have started sowing paddy. As the fields required flooding during the first few weeks after transplantation, a lot of water is consumed during the season. However apart from farmers, others too are required to become concerned about wastage of water, opined another resident.

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