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Amidst the ongoing summer season leading to water shortages across India, the news media has widely reported the frenzied demand for water tankers in the national capital. However, the situation is not endemic to Delhi. Almost 500 kilometres eastwards, Lucknow is also in the grip of the same crisis. A closer look at the situation raises some vital questions - where are these water-filled tankers arriving from? And that too in such large numbers? Who owns and regulates this business? Are the tankers adding to the crisis? Or are they indispensable?
In Lucknow, Hari Prasad who owns six water tankers says:
I have been in the water supply business for 15 years. When the water department fails to supply water, the residents contact us, and we transport water from here. They pay us Rs 400 for one tanker. Each tanker carries 4,000 litres of water".
Here, many tanker owners install submersible motors in their homes. They often lack formal water quality checks, relying on basic measures like washing tankers or adding bleaching powder.
Now, let's take the case of another city: Kolkata. A city traditionally rich in water resources is now supplying 5.5 million litres of water daily through tankers. The situation in the city hints at high wastage and distributional failures.
Kolkata produces 2,180 million litres daily (MLD), including about 182 MLD of groundwater. Of this, around 1,700 MLD is designated for domestic use. Considering the city’s estimated 5 million population, the requirement is approximately 750 MLD. Even accounting for the additional 5 million people who frequent the city daily, the produced water should suffice. Now what’s the problem?
Official figures suggest that about 30 per cent of supplied water is wasted, but KMC officials believe the actual loss is closer to 35 per cent or more.
As is the case in Delhi, socio-economic disparity plays a huge role in both Lucknow’s and Kolkata’s water crisis. Most demand for tankers comes from areas where there are power outages for two to three days or the water supply is cut off for a few days. These areas are mostly inhabited by underprivileged sections of society. Now the question remains, what can be done to ensure not just immediate relief but long-term solutions? To know more about the issue head on to the Centre for Science and Environment report named “Back from the Brink” which analyses impactful programmes and schemes for the rejuvenation or restoration of water bodies in India.
Down to Earth is Science and Environment fortnightly published by the Society for Environmental Communication, New Delhi. We publish news and analysis on issues that deal with sustainable development, which we scan through the eyes of science and environment.
5 окт 2024
