Water woes hold India back

Till now India was burdened with water scarcity, now it is the contamination of drinking water that is posing the biggest threat for the people, especially the poor. According to the recently submitted papers by the Water Resources Ministry, ‘India is becoming unfit for drinking.’ It further states that groundwater in 25 per cent of the districts across India has gone saline while in 41 per cent of cases, it contained excess fluorides. The proportion of arsenic in groundwater in eight per cent of the districts is beyond the permissible level while high levels of iron in 42 per cent of the districts further worsens the scenario. Moreover, water in a further 10 per cent of the districts is contaminated with heavy metals like lead, chromium and cadmium. Contamination of drinking water can cause a public health crisis if not taken care of on a priority basis. Drinking water with high percentage of arsenic breaks down the nervous system, reduces IQ level in children and more importantly, can cause cancer.

 

India’s current position in global water share does not reflect a bright picture either. As per a report by Water Aid Foundation, India posses 16 per cent of the global population but has a mere four per cent of its water resources. Moreover, 92 per cent of groundwater and 89 per cent of surface water is being used for agricultural purposes and 3-4 per cent by the industries. Thus, a very small fraction of the total water is left for domestic consumption. Such usage pattern of water resources is not sustainable in the long term.

 

While the amount of ground water is fast diminishing due to unsustainable usage, the availability of surface water is also expected to shrink soon. Worryingly, India is experiencing a rapid fall in per capita water availability. It would further worsen as increase in the population would escalate the demand for water. There is every possibility that by 2020, India might become a water stressed nation. India’s per capita water availability was 5,300 cubic metres per year in 1955. This came down to 2,200 cubic metres in 1996 and it is further expected to go down below 1600 cubic metres
by 2020.

 

Around 37.7 million people are being affected by waterborne diseases of which diarrhoea alone accounts for 1.5 million deaths of children every year. This particular problem in the hindsight causes an overall annual loss of 73 million working days which boils down to a cumulative loss of $600 million annually. The government has already intensified its effort towards addressing the issue. India has spent around Rs.1,105 billion till the 10th plan to provide access to safe drinking water but the scheme enjoyed sparing success sparingly. The precarious condition prevailing in India is clear from the fact that even the national capital Delhi, is unable to provide access to safe drinking water to 35 per cent of the population. In such a scenario, a Public-Private Partnership model will be a viable option to arrest the slide. Furthermore, awareness among the rural masses and technological intervention would play a critical role in water purification and distribution. Above all, it needs a strong political commitment and intervention of social activists.