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NCERT Solutions for Class 5th The World Around Us Chapter 2 When a River Runs Dry! — In-text Questions

Book page 35 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.
What would you do if you had no water in your home for an entire day?
Answer

I would use whatever water is already stored very carefully, fetch more from the nearest safe source, and stop every use that can wait for a day.

My plan for the day, in order:

  1. First, count what we have. Check the drum, the buckets, the pots and the water bottles, and keep them covered.
  2. Keep the drinking water separate. Set aside a filled pot only for drinking and cooking. Nobody touches it for anything else.
  3. Fetch more. Go with an adult to a handpump, a neighbour's tap or the municipal tanker, with buckets and a cycle or a cart.
  4. Cook simply. One-pot food like khichdi. Use the water in which vegetables were washed for the plants.
  5. Bathe with a mug and a small bucket, not a shower or a running tap.
  6. Reuse water twice. Water used to wash rice or vegetables goes to the plants. Water used to rinse clothes goes to the floor or the toilet.
  7. Postpone what can wait. No washing of clothes, no washing of the scooter, no washing of the courtyard today.
  8. Boil or filter any water that is not from a safe source before drinking it.
UseWhat I do on a no-water day
DrinkingKeep a separate covered pot; drink in small glasses, do not fill and throw
CookingCook one simple dish; do not wash vessels again and again
BathingOne small bucket and a mug
ToiletUse the water already collected from rinsing clothes
Washing clothesSkip it for a day
Plants and animalsGive them the reused water — they must not be forgotten
What one day teaches you: On an ordinary day water is invisible — you just open a tap. On a day without it you suddenly count every mug. That is why the chapter asks you to imagine it. A river that runs dry does exactly this to a whole town at once.
Q2.
What if there was no water for a week? How would you bath, drink, cook or clean? Where would you go to find water?
Answer

A whole week is a very different matter. One day can be managed from what is stored at home. For a week the family would have to bring water in every single day from outside — and would have to be very strict about how each drop is used.

NeedHow I would manage for a weekHow much water is really needed
DrinkingOnly water from a safe source — a working handpump, a tanker, a water ATM — boiled or filtered. Keep it in a covered pot with a ladle.About 3 litres a person a day. This is the one need that can never be reduced.
CookingSimple one-pot food. Reuse the water in which dal or vegetables were washed. Wipe vessels with a cloth before washing them, so less water is needed.About 5 litres for the family per meal
BathingA bucket bath with a mug, and on some days only a wet-cloth wipe. Wash the hair less often.15 litres instead of 40
Cleaning and toiletSweep the floor and wipe with a damp cloth instead of washing it. Use the rinse water from clothes for the toilet.Whatever has already been used once
ClothesWash only what is really needed, all together, in one tub, and reuse the rinse water.Once in three days instead of daily
Animals and plantsAnimals must get their drinking water. Plants get the used water, early in the morning.A cow needs 30–40 litres a day

Where I would go to find water:

  1. The municipal or panchayat tanker — find out its timing and stand in line with clean covered containers.
  2. A handpump, borewell or public tap that still has water, or a neighbour's borewell.
  3. A water ATM, where you get clean water by putting in a card or a coin.
  4. The school, temple or panchayat bhawan — such places usually have a tank.
  5. A well, pond or canal, only for washing and the toilet — and never for drinking without boiling or filtering.
  6. Tell the ward member, sarpanch or municipal office. A whole week without water must be reported, not just endured.
Why a week is so hard: Water is heavy. Twenty litres weighs twenty kilograms. A family needs far more than that every day, so somebody — usually a woman or a child — spends hours carrying it. School and work stop. And when the safe sources run out, people start drinking unsafe water, and that is when illness begins. This is exactly why the chapter says families sometimes have to leave their homes altogether and move to a place where water is available.
Did you know? In 2019 Chennai had to run special water trains from other districts because its reservoirs dried up. In 2022 heavy rain flooded homes and roads in Bengaluru. Too little water and too much water both make life very hard.
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