A Lesson From India's Water Woes

By Saraswathi Muniappan NEW DELHI, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- The scene of water tanker lorries coming by a housing area and people chasing after them with their water containers has not changed much over the years in this country of more than a billion people. With the monsoon shunning almost two thirds of India this year, the above scene is more widespread as the lack of rainfall has reduced the availability of water to a chronic level. Drought has already hit some states, namely, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Rajasthan. "But whether there is rain or not, water has always been an issue for us," said P.Manikam, 46, who lives at the Shiv Camp area in New Delhi. This year's monsoon rain recorded a deficit of 22 per cent while rainfall over key agriculture areas in the northwestern, central, south peninsula, eastern and northeastern parts of India has been lower than 33 per cent. A recent government data indicated that water level in India's main reservoirs was at 24 percent of capacity, down by 19 percentage points from a year ago. LIMITED WATER SUPPLY As for Manikam and more than 350 households in the Shiv Camp area, there was only one water supply pipe available and the tap would dry up after a few hours. "Within a limited time all the 350 families here have to quickly store enough water for their daily use," he said, adding that this has been the routine for the past 25 years of his life. Just like in some villages in India, people in the nation's capital of New Delhi too walk for miles to fetch water even today. "Sometimes we have to cycle a few kilometers to fetch water for the family if there is no supply through the single tap or water tanker lorry," said a rather disappointed Manikam. The residents, he said, had requested for an additional pipe but to no avail. A THIRSTY SUMMER During the peak summer months, "we go without water for days," V.Abhati, 36, told Bernama. "We are the struggling lot. It is either too much water (from floods) or none (at all)," said another resident in the settlement who did not want her name published. "Will our problems be solved tomorrow if I give you my name? People come and go, our problems remain as they are," said the disappointed woman. She pointed out that except for three families in the settlement whose breadwinners work with the government, the rest are daily wage earners. "So, we can’t afford to buy water," she said, referring to the common practice by rich locals and foreigners who purchase mineral water for their daily use. "All we want is reliable water supply. Is that too much to ask for?" she asked angrily before walking away from the group of people being interviewed. Over 21 per cent of transmissible diseases in India are related to unsafe water. When contacted in Kuala Lumpur, University of Malaya's senior research fellow Dr Marie Aimee Tourress said Water pollution is a national life-threatening problem. She added that the Indian government should act fast especially after India’s water resources ministry revealed recently that groundwater in 158 out of 639 districts had turned saline. In certain pockets across 267 districts the groundwater was reported to contain excess fluoride, in 385 districts the water contained nitrate beyond permissible levels, in 53 districts arsenic was recorded and a high level of iron was found in 270 districts. UNDERGROUND WATER SOURCES Nearly 80 percent of India’s rural drinking water comes from underground sources. The growing health crisis could be worse in rural India where facilities to even detect chronic health problems arising out of water contamination is not available. In India, an estimated 1,600 children die every day due to diseases caused by lack of clean water, said Ratan Jalan, the founder and principal consultant at Medium Healthcare Consulting, in his recent presentation entitled, "Common Man Uncommon Problem". "The New Delhi Jal Board supplies just over 30 million cubic metres of water per day, but only 17 million cubic metres actually reach consumers due to infrastructure problems such as leaking pipes," said Ratan. Although there has been real improvement in India's water infrastructure since 2008, it was absolutely insufficient for such a huge population, noted Dr Marie. IS THERE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL The investments remain too low to face the increasing demand for drinking water and replacing the aging distribution infrastructure. Today more than 25 per cent of New Delhi's population has access to only three hours of tap water a day, said Dr Marie. "This can only grow worse if nothing is done. The government must involve the private sector to invest under partnership. To me, there is no other solution to overcome the weak public investment." Dr Marie said such a partnership should be seen as a great business opportunity for the private sector as the investment required was estimated around US$30 billion, provided that tenders were awarded to companies with real water-related know-how. "Not only in the water infrastructure per se but also in all the water-related sectors and industries such as the agriculture and residential sectors," she said. A recent “State of the Environment” report by the Indian Government confirmed that more than a quarter of India’s harvest could be at risk as early as 2025 as its groundwater is depleted beyond recovery. "Water is also a real geopolitical issue in the region where India is one of the key players," said Dr Marie. "India is linked to many countries through its rivers (which also supplies water). The risk of polluting others is not an unrealistic scenario. If there is one conflict, which the region cannot afford, is a water conflict,” she said. Against this backdrop, India needs to urgently address its domestic water woes as not doing so may bring about catastrophic problems. -- BERNAMA