I have been thinking for a while ..."What if fundamental rights are commercialised?"
Water.. Every person is born with a right to water and no one takes it away from us.
This topic "Should water be privatised?" is most often debated about.....
Well I personally feel that Privatisation is a step backwards from the progress of present generation .This is directly or indirectly going to lead to the violent protests of the backward class of the people.Why do we need to pay for something we deserve??
World bank and IMF have been encouraging privatisation of water in various countries and
have been met with a less than pleasant response.
For example "The Bolivian Problem"....
Due to privatisation of water in bolivia, the prices increased by 200% and thus the people were outraged with such a hike. After prolonged protests the project was scrapped.
The only question I want to ask is .....
Do we still need to fight for our basic rights....are we not blessed with simple and basic rights..?
The only solution to all this problems is "GLOBALISATION"
Globalise water by keeping the water bodies under a regular check by an international organisation.... If we believe that it would lead to conflicts, well I say no .....
It should be considered after a mutual co-operation of all countries so as to prevent various ambivalent opinions ....
All i can say is that we are already under a brink of downfall lets not create another problem.....
The major advantage is that water wastage can be kept under control...
How much more long do we need to talk about privatising water...
Let us move ahead...
Advait.V
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15 comments:
Advait: I cannot agree with you more. Water and Air are basic amenities that people cannot live without and privatization of this, especially in third world countries like India, sounds like a recipe for disaster!
The question of privatization is dicey to answer. It helps a great deal in many industries. Should basic necessities be taxed so ? The question is then do they need to be managed better. It now becomes obvious the problem is more deep-rooted than simply meeting the requirements of the people.
International intervention may not always help as much as you would think, more often than not, a completely different paradigm is required to come up with a solution for each country. I can give examples of electricity, food, petrol and so on.
privatisation is an issue debatable in varous aspects and areas...
in one way, monetising resources can be seen as atrocious or a money making racket...on the other hand we have cases where privatisation has actually helped better services and the quality of products...so it is a bit difficult to take an actual stand on the matter...
instead, before actually resorting to privatisation, given that we have our "rights", citizens can be made aware about exactly how water needs to be preserved & maintained unpolluted and just as we have the "batti bandh" concept something similar can be devised for water...
if awareness and conservation doesnt work and no one's willing to take the effort to take care of what is absolutely essential for human survival, then third world country or not, someone who actually wants to take the effort and charge us for it has every right to...don't you think?
Globalisation or privatisation, the end result is more important. I can quickly recall how Chennai had enforced rain water harvesting by each house and at least when I visited Chennai a few months back, many a person said that this had yielded good results. But I wonder how one could have an International organisation to control this - probably like United Nations it could lead to bending to the "Big" powers of the world!! Beware!!
Usha said....
If the question of water privatisation has come up-don't you think we ourselves are to be blamed for it?
Anything which is available in plenty is taken for granted and no one ever thinks of it being taken away-same is the case with water.Places where it is available in abundance ,it is misused .Then why would n't it lead to privatisation?
I am in no way in favour of privatisation but my concern is instead of fighting against privatisation ,why not educate people to manage it better.Water in no way is a resource to be commercialised-it is a basic right of every citizen .
Advait is right when he says that "why one has to pay for bascic rights". But at the same time if water resources are not channelised and managed well can create scarcity and lead to major problems.
By saying this I don't mean privatisation but to try and stop misuse of water and educate people to manage it better.
Globalisation could be one way by which we can have a control over the water management and ensure that people all over get water equally-which is a basic necessity of life and the right of each citizen
"privatisation is a step backwards"............preposterous!!! majority of the people in the lower classes of the society are able to obtain water due to privatisation.............. in several third world countries, where the water sources and distribution is controlled by the govt, the rich have easy access to water while the poor are forced to pay absurdly high prices ..........privatisation is the obvious solution to this according to me......atleast then,everyone will get water for the same price,regardless of how fat their pay check is(!!)................. also, the idea of setting up an ‘international organization’ is not an easy solution to implement..........mutual cooperation of all countries regarding any given topic, let alone one as controversial as this, is quite far-fetched if you ask me.................. but,agreed, water is something which we should get without paying for.............but in todays scenario, privatisation appears to be the best option available to us..............we get the water, in the process someone gets to make some money.....so what??!!!!
adheip
The people are being provided a hodson's choice. If the water resources all over the world gets into private hands, then people will end up paying a hefty price for water, an essential for life. we need to oppose the privatisation of water.
Advait
I see that you are very passionate and concerned about "GLOBAL WATER RIGHTS"
Iam an Educator and wish to share my opinion about Privatisation /Nationalisation of water.
To take either of the sides ,first of all each and every country needs to protect its available water resources,without fighting over it .You -The future of the world must educate and bring about awareness among the people that -who owns water is not the priority,but whoever owns must preserve and conserve the most precious resource and see that the future generations are not suffering the consequences of water scarcity.
Girija
I some how feel that neither globalization nor privatization will ensure regular or uninterrupted supply of water to one and all. As in the case of crude oil supply, where the cost is rising day-by-day, supply of water in few hands would also make it inaccessible. Globalization of water could also lead to conflicts between haves and have-nots.
Instead of pondering over this issue, it would be more appropriate to develop new technologies to conserve water resources and ensure that such tools are accessible across the world.
However, one vital aspect is to educate the masses – rich and poor – to prevent misuse and take steps to conserve the depleting water resources.
Advait : I do agree with the fact that the local governments and the self- governed bodies are least equipped to supply safe drinking water to the thirsty masses.But a private enterprise if takes up the charge of water supply to the cities and villages, the standards wouldn't be any better, and the costs would definitely soar high. What we need is a credible government to take care of the whole issue, and make this a citizen bodies' responsibility to provide safe water to all, irrespective of their nationality, caste, creed, colour and religion.
hi,
There is little doubt that the headlong rush toward private markets has failed to address some of the most important issues and concerns about water. In particular, water has vital social, cultural, and ecological roles to play that cannot be protected by purely market forces. In addition, certain management goals and social values require direct and strong government support and protection, yet privatization efforts are increasing rapidly in regions where strong governments do not exist. It has been recommended that any efforts to privatize or commodify water be accompanied by formal guarantees to respect certain principles and support specific social objectives. Among these are the need to provide for
basic human and ecosystem water requirements as a top priority, independent monitoring and enforcement of water quality standards, equitable access to water for poor populations, inclusion of all affected parties in decision making, and increased reliance on water-use efficiency and productivity improvements. Openness, transparency, and
strong public regulatory oversight are fundamental requirements in any efforts to share the public responsibility for providing clean water to private entities. Water is both an economic and social good. As a result, unregulated private market forces can never completely and equitably satisfy social objectives. Nonetheless, the driving forces toward, and potential advantages of, globalization and privatization of fresh water supply will continue to play an important role in future water supply and planning. Given the legitimate concerns about the risks of this “new economy of water,” efforts to capture the positive characteristics of the private sector must be balanced with efforts to address its flaws, gaps, and omissions. Water management is far too important for human and ecological well-being to be placed entirely in the private sector.
The proper balance requires that new water management policies and mechanisms be developed that make it possible to manage water as both a social and an economic good.
Whether that balance will be achieved remains to be seen.
The New Economy of Water
The Risks and Benefits of Globalization and
Privatization of Fresh Water
Peter H. Gleick, Gary Wolff, Elizabeth L. Chalecki, Rachel Reyes
February 2002
Pacific Institute
Rahul Bharadwaj, MD
hi,
this is worth a read too!
Are the debates on water
privatization missing the point?
Experiences from Africa, Asia
and Latin America
Jessica Budds and Gordon McGranahan
Environment&Urbanization Vol 15 No 2 October 2003
Rahul Bharadwaj, MD
Dear Addavait,
I am against water privatisation as water is priceless and poor will be the most
affected by this factor and also Private companies cannot take control
of our water supply as Water is a natural resource just like air. Nobody has the right
to sell it.
If it is privitised a situation will arrise like mismanagement, underinvestment,
carelessness.
People will not get water if they cannot pay for it.
This privitisation might be true for a number of areas, but not water.
hi,
i laud your efforts.There are both sides to the privatization however considering the essential nature of water believe privatization on commercial terms will only hamper .
In todays corporate world social responsibilities of corporates is strongly advocated and hence if corporates take upon themselves as a matter of their social responsibility to monitor,preserve and distribute water in a systamatic manner the issue can be addressed .
A private involvement is a requirement to ensure syatamatic and innovative system to emerge.
The essence here is the intent with which we address an issue. Thus if profitability is the essence it will be a curse here but if the social responsibility is the intent it will have a great appeal.
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