|
|||||||
| Urban Water Issues And Challenges In India | |||||||
| Paper Id :
17778 Submission Date :
08/06/2023 Acceptance Date :
21/06/2023 Publication Date :
25/06/2023
This is an open-access research paper/article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. For verification of this paper, please visit on
http://www.socialresearchfoundation.com/anthology.php#8
|
|||||||
| |||||||
| Abstract | A large number of Indians face high to extreme water stress. The country has 18 percent of the world’s population, but only 4 percent of it’s water resources, making it among the most water stressed in the world. The problem of access to drinking water and sanitation facilities in urban areas of India is a major concern. It is estimated that by 2050 half of India’s population will be living in urban areas and will face acute water problems. In addition, there is a lack of waste water treatment facilities to treat the waste water of a growing population. Flexible and innovative solutions are needed to cope with sudden and substantial changes in water demands for people and their associated economic activities. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keywords | Water Stress, Waste Water, Sanitation. | ||||||
| Introduction | In the Bhagavad Gita, which
is a part of the Hindu epic The Mahabharata, Lord Krishna explained this
connection that we have with nature to Arjuna. He spoke of the five essential
elements - Space (akasa), Air (vayu), Fire (agni), Water (jal )and earth (bhumi
or prithvi) - which make up all matter on this earth. Water corresponds to the
liquid components of the body, such as blood and saliva. Up to 60% of the human
body is made up of water, with the amount changing slightly due to factors such
as age, hydration levels etc. According to experts, water is ranked second only
to oxygen as essential for life. Average daily water intake in India varies by
age group with those over 30 typically consuming the most, adults age 30 to 44
years old consumed 2.26 litres of water per day. In comparison those aged 19
years and below consumed just 1.97 litres per day on average . India with an
area of 3.287million Km2 is the seventh largest country in the world and by
population it ranks at number two after China. About 17 percent of the world
population lives in the India and it has achieved all round socio economic
progress since independence. In recent times due to the tremendous increase in
the population in India from 361 million in 1951 to 1210 million in 2011: the
per capita availability of fresh water in the country has come down from 6371m3
a year to 1902m3 a year that is by 70 percent. Fresh water availability from
rainfall in India as also in it,s different states under the impact of the
population growth of the 29 states. The availability of fresh water per capita
in the four contiguous states of Haryana, Uttar pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal
has been estimated be less than 1000m3 a year these four states are water
stressed which may experience severe water supply instability.
Environmentalists say that the next wars to be fought are not going to be about
land but water. |
||||||
| Aim of study |
The objective of this paper is to study the urban
water issues and challenges in India. |
||||||
| Review of Literature | Water scarcity refers to the lack of fresh water resources to meet water demand. Thomas S. Eliot (1888-1965)reported that” Drought is the death of the earth”. |
||||||
| Main Text | Issues and
Challenges Despite the
significant improvement relevant infrastructure , updated water management
plans and technological solutions improving water use efficiency (WUE),water
scarcity remains a major concern in several parts of the world over the next
decade. Million of families around the world remains vulnerable to water
scarcity or do not yet have access to clean and adequate drinking water. More
specifically over 2 billion people are living in region
experiencing high water stress and this number is expected to increase. Over 1 billion people do not have access to clean and safe drinking
water. About 3.4 million people die each year due to the use of contaminated
water. At any given
time, half of the world,s hospita lbeds are occupied by patients suffering from
disease associated with lack of access to clean drinking water. A 2016 report -by the Indian parliamentary committee on
restructuring the central water commission and the central ground water board
says “the growing dependence on groundwater has taken the form of unsustainable
over extraction , which is lowering the water table and adversely impacting
drinking water security”. A wide spread
depletion of water causes situations of drought across the country. Drought
have multiple effects on communities, especially on children,by reducing food
security, increasing poverty and malnutrition, and aggregating community conflicts,
among others. Supply -led
water deprivation prevails in major cities in India. The per capita water
availability in these cities is no where near the standards led down by the
world health organization or the bureau of Indian standards (1993),
and it is also for lower than that in other large cities in the world. The
availability of water in Indian cities varies with socio- economic groups and
areas. Households with
low income suffer a lot in big cities which lack sufficient water. Predicting the
future is a hazardous business but one thing is certain, that the world in the
future, at least in some respect , is going to be different from that of today
(Figueres et al 2005). It is certain that societies are
going to have to confront, among other things, demographic transitions,
geographical shift of population, technological advancement, growing
globalization, degradation of the environment and emergence of water scarcities
. Water the need
of life, is likely to pose the greatest challenge on account of an increased
demand with population rise and economic development, and shrinking supplies
due to over- exploitation and renewable natural resource covering two thirds of
the planet but a very small proportion of this is effectively available for
human use. In India, as a result of development, the demand for water is
increasing both in urban and rural areas. This may increase tensions and
disputes over sharing and command of water resources. The emerging scarcity of
water has also raised a host of issues related to sustainability of the present
form of economic development, sustained water supply equity and social justice
water financing, pricing, governance and management. As per the
bureau of Indian standards IS: 1172-1993, a minimum water
supply of 200 litres per capita per day (lpcd) should be
provided for domestic consumption in cities with full flushing systems, water
supply may be reduced to 135 lpcd for the LIG (lower
income group )and the EWS (economically weaker section) of the society and in
small towns . Besides domestic requirement, water is also demanded for
commercial , industrial and civic or public use. The IS: 1172-1993,
gives the total requirement of water in industrial and commercial towns with
full flushing systems as 280 lpcd,. The ninth plan (1997-2002) had advocated the requirement of water in urban areas
as 125 lpcd in cities with planned sewerage systems, 70 lpcd in cities without planned sewerage systems; and 20 lpcd for those collecting water from public stand- posts.
However the tenth plan (2002- 2007), the cities with two
groups based on population , i.e., metro or mega cities and non metro cities.
The National Commission on urbanisation (1988) recommended
that a per capita water supply of 90-100 litres per day is
needed to lead a hygienic existence, and emphasized that this level of water
supply must be ensured to all citizens. Not with standing
the IS: 1172-1993 amd the Five -Year plan recommendations,
we find that almost every municipal corporation, municipality has defined the
requirement of water per capita per day in it’s own way. One agrees that
industrial and commercial development of towns and cities may differ and hence
the amount of water required will also vary, but the requirement for domestic
use seems unlikely to vary so much. Considering the
fact that various agencies recommend different quantities of requirement of
water for domestic use, we have to decide a benchmark for identifying water
deficient households. It is also
important to note here that the quantity of water consumed in most of the
Indian cities is not determined by the demand but the supply. Metro cities
face a perpetual problem of water shortage and the tragedy is that in these
cities a very limited proportion of households are aware of rain water
harvesting methods . Awareness leads to adaptations, and so the local and state
government need to put special emphasis to spread awareness about various
methods of water conservation and management. In big cities,
a majority of the households perceive these activities as the most wasteful .
This shows that given appropriate and affordable technologies to save water in
specified activities the households would be willing to adopt them. Infact ,
there exists a large scope for reducing water consumption in washing clothes by
adopting appropriate Soap/Detergent and Machines; and in the toilets by
changing and modifying the flushing systems. An awareness campaign about the
best practices in the urban areas can play a better role in consuming water. However it is
found that a large number of households from the lower socio economic class
reuse water, and this is a result of limited water availability,to this class.
The municipal corporation supplies water in a majority of households once in
two days , and during summers when there is more scarcity of water once in
three days is also not so uncommon.Water tanks and bore wells compensate for
the deficiency of municipal water in these cities. Twenty- four
hour water supply in municipal taps is a dream for a majority of households in
the large cities in the country. This has forced the households in a majority
of these cities to depend on groundwater and other sources of water,like
private vendors who supply water through tankers and drums. These sources in
turn results in depletion of groundwater. For example, in cities like Ahmadabad, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai some households have started using packaged water for drinking. However, it is also true that so far none of these cities have permanently handed over the task of water supply to private bodies (NGOs, or corporations). Urban water conservation depends on changing behaviors by water users. So there is strict and instant need to change their behavior. |
||||||
| Conclusion |
Water conservation
strategies in Urban areas must be in regular practice, like Balancing water
supply, and demands, public education campaigns, reevaluating water value,rain
harvesting boxes , planting trees, as we know that, trees hold the Water, new
green technologies for waste water management, treatment and reuse of grey water
released from laundry and showers can be reused for multiple household chores
after treatment. This process will reduce the pressure on our public sewers and
generate more usable water. The population is increasing day by day at an
alarming rate and water resources are decreasing . To prevent the scarcity of
water we should conserve more and more water and prevent it for the next
generation as well. The time has come to have a retrospect view on the water
use and misuse to take serious actions that will lead towards sustainable urban
water management sustaining healthy environment in the urbanized world of 21st
century. |
||||||
| References | 1. Bureau of Indian Standard |
||||||
