As per the 2016 World Bank and Niti Ayog reports, 176 million people in India don’t have safe drinking water causing death of approximately 500 children under the age of 5 every year due to diarrhea and other water borne diseases and over all about 37.7 million Indians are affected by waterborne diseases.
An economic burden of $US600 Million a year is registered due to 73 Million people not reporting to work as a result of illnesses related to impure water.
Every 4 minutes a child in India is lost due to diarrhea alone.
As per reports, only 40% of the population will have access to drinking water by 2030.
As per census, 86% of population has access to safe drinking water but this figure seems exaggerated, considering they are taking into account water from hand pumps and tube wells which are a proven carrier of waterborne diseases. Moreover, of the 44% people who have access to piped water, only 32% of it is treated.
Countless have been exposed to arsenic in drinking water putting them at risk of skin lesions, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and neuro developmental issues when consumed in high concentration.
Despite attempts to improve the quality of potable water, many water sources are contaminated with both bio and chemical pollutants.
Notably over 21% of the country’s diseases are related to unclean water and only 33% of the population has access to traditional sanitation.
Looking at global figures, 2.2 Billion people are deprived of safe drinking water. Every year, around 3 lakh children under the age of 5 die from diarrhoea caused due to inadequate water, poor sanitation and hygiene.