Theft of human rights is a punishable offence...! This world water day, let’s pledge not to steal water..!

Canberra, March 22: Climate change is a burning issue of these days. Every country is trying tore solve this issue with one or the other way. Such issues are in many areas in India too. A 2018 report from global advocacy group WaterAid put India at the top of its list of countries with the worst access to clean water close to homes. Water theft is a crime, shown by the case registered in Australia.

 In Australia, New South Wales (abbreviated as NSW) is a state on the east coast of Australia. Mr Barlow, a cotton farmer charged over water theft after an ABC Four Corners report has been fined $190,000 by the Land and Environment Court. Mr Barlow pleaded guilty to pumping water from the Barwon River for two days, during an embargo that was imposed from February to June in 2015 because of a severe water shortage in Broken Hill.

He pumped enough water to fill almost 153 Olympic swimming pools, and according to court documents he was planning a summer cotton crop over two fields.

Meanwhile, Broken Hill was warned by authorities it may run out of the water, with the Menindee Lakes, which the town relies, on resembling "big sandpits".

"He knew that the embargo was imposed by a formal process and needed to be lifted by a similar formal process, but he took no steps to ascertain whether the formal process for lifting the embargo had been carried out."

Mr Barlow said he accepted responsibility for knowing about the embargo and if he knew it was in place he would not have pumped the water.

A map released by Australian Broadcasting Corporation shows how this farmer steals water from the dam.

 

However, the judge said the prosecutor, Water NSW, had not established beyond reasonable doubt that the illegal pumping had affected the rights of others or caused harm to the environment.

The total fine of $189,491 also includes penalties for two counts of pumping water while metering equipment was not working properly.

Mr Barlow will also have to pay the costs of the case.

The directive has been issued keeping in line with a government resolution, that was out in February, a stipulation of formation of such squads to ensure drinking water reaches the beneficiaries.