Is there any alternative to the use of a ground wire?
No it’s not.  The purpose of the ground connection is that in the event of a fault where a live wire contacts some exposed metal, the earth connection prevents a large voltage from presenting, and sufficient current flows to trip a breaker or fuse very quickly.  If you put a light bulb in series then the bulb would illuminate to indicate a fault condition, but a user would still be exposed to mains voltage.