There is a wide gap in India in the demand and supply of safe drinking water. Nearly 680 million Indians have no access to safe water. Women and children walk several miles to fetch water, which prevents them from going to schools or having a job.
This has a severe negative impact on economic growth of the country. In India, about 2 Lakh people die every year due to inadequate access to safe water, according to the Composite Water Management Index report (2018) published by NITI Aayog.
Madhya Pradesh faces a huge challenge due to non-availability of safe water to a large percentage of its population. The is mainly due to depleting ground water table, highly abnormal level of TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) and the presence of contaminants like Fluoride and Arsenic.
While talking to media persons about solutions, Praveen Kumar, Joint Managing Director, JanaJal, India’s premier clean and safe drinking water services company, said that water management demands
sincere planning and coordinated efforts. There is a need for formation of separate water bodies independent of government interference, manned by professionals appointed for a contractual basis and paid according to work efficiency.
In Madhya Pradesh, the need of the hour is not only to set up new water treatment plants but also to focus on revamping and revival of all existing water treatment plants that have been installed over the past decades with the objective of higher capacity utilisation, he added.