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Almost 90 per cent rural population doesn't have access to drinking water

SME WORLD Bureau
Apr 2010

Despite tremendous developments in the supply of drinking water, there are many challenges in front of us. We see that out of 150 million, 134 million (almost 90 per cent) living in rural India have no access to safe drinking water. It is also critical to look at safety of water as it is directly linked to health and social stability,” according to Lizette Burgers, Chief of Water and Environmental Sanitation, UNICEF.

Lizette was delivering her special address at a national workshop- Water Conservation and Quality Challenges: Towards Adaptive Strategies jointly organized by TERI with UNICEF and HUL to discuss various issues related to water on World Water Day on 22 March 2010 in New Delhi. This year's core theme of was 'Clean Water for a Healthy World'.

However, she lauded the country's marked development in supplying drinking to water during recent years. She said, “India has a lot to be proud of as it has achieved a lot since the last couple of years. There have been positive developments in the area of water supply. India has already achieved its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target of 86% of access to improved sources of drinking water.”

Ashok Jaitly, a distinguished fellow and Director Water Division, TERI, while welcoming the audience stressed on quality of our freshwater resources. He said, “This day has been celebrated since 1992 in order to focus attention on the critical importance of the planet's freshwater resources and to strongly advocate the cause of sustainable management of these resources. The quality of our freshwater resources is an important parameter to assess the status of our eco-systems and human well being as it impacts upon human and animal health, food production, economic activity and biodiversity. There is clearly enough historical evidence to establish that water quality has been declining all over the planet. The adverse impact is also felt on rivers, lakes, wetlands and groundwater aquifer.”

Water quality and conservation are important indicators of the overall growth of a community as it is intrinsically linked to human health, socio-economic growth, major ecosystems, environmental goods and services and sustainable development. Its importance has been highlighted in the MDGs in achieving our objectives within the stipulated time period. Clean water is a basic necessity for a healthy and prosperous world. Whether it is sewage, mining, solid waste or natural disaster, water quality has been subjected to a lot of stress.

Exploitation of Water

Accusing urbanization as a major cause for water pollution, the President of Tarun Bharat Sangh and Magsaysay Award winner, Rajendra Singh in his passionate speech said, “Water quality is directly affected by its exploitation, encroachment and pollution. The encouragement of agricultural boom post independence has increased the exploitation of water. Water bodies are seen as common property that has led to an increase in encroachment of the river bed area especially after a boom in real estates. One has to balance recharge and discharge to address the water quality.” He urged the participants to lead a revolution to protect and preserve the rivers of India.

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