A true neighbor

Did you see that small news a couple of days ago – India sent 1000 tonnes of drinking water by ship and airplanes to Maldives? One could have scoffed at this news as just being ‘Fake News’ but really, this was for real.

Maldives ran out of potable water when its only desalination plant caught fire. It was a state of crisis there and India, like a true neighbor stepped in with the Army and navy helping carry 1000 tonnes of water to the drinking water-starved Maldives.

The Indian Navy carried water aboard INS Sukanya and the INS Deepak which have the capability to purify water on board through Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems. These ships will stay at Male harbour until the desalination treatment plant in Male has been repaired. INS Sukanya carried 65 tonnes of fresh water and can purify 20 tonnes per day. INS Deepak left from Mumbai carrying around 1000 tonnes and it can purify 100 tonnes per day. The Indian Air Force sent around five aircrafts to take 20 tonnes of drinking water to meet the needs of over 150,000 residents who are struggling to survive without drinking water.

It will take another week for restoration of regular water supply in Maldives and till then, India will try and help them out.  This is probably the best duty of any neighbor – provide in crisis. Wonder what happens if India ever runs out of water? Many states are grappling with this; wonder how they take this news?