Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Blog 6: In India, water and inequality are intertwined


In India there seems to be a huge problem when it comes to clean water, or any water for that matter. Many people have no access to water, and others find ways to water by taking illegal measures. Some discover the city’s main supply line and dig themselves an access point where they developed their own line of water. Many women and young girls have to carry the burden of collecting water for their families, where they have to travel long distances, some having to walk for hours to retrieve water so that they can have it for cooking, sanitation, and of course for drinking needs. Because of this many of the girls have to sacrifice their education, so that they can take the time to go find water, which also makes it harder for these females and their families to climb out of poverty. According to the 2011 census, that out of 79 million urban household in India, 18.6 percent are without a toilet, while 168 million rural households it was 69.3 percent. As these results show, more than 65 percent of the country’s populations are living in rural areas where having access to water is clearly a huge challenge. Although there have been improvements over the years to receive access to water for those living in India, this is still a major problem.

When I found myself reading this article, I could not believe how much higher the percentage was for those living in rural areas, compared to those living in urban areas when it came to not having a toilet, not something we would think very highly of. There is also a major problem in India with the quality of water, where urban water is full of pollutants, and also untreated sewage. Water is overall something that every human being needs to survive but in India even having access to water at all, whether that be clean water or not, is a key problem in itself. I know from my perspective have clean water has never been something I have had to worry about, and knowing that those living in India have to deal with this issue makes me realize how lucky I am.
Meredith Casacchia
3-6-13 7:26pm


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