The growing industrialisation and population growth has put much pressure on use of natural resources such as water. The privatization and pollution of water sources has seriously impacted the poor in the absence of adequate State protection in form of basic services of water supply.
Water is one of the important non-negotiable basic human needs and remains inaccessible for the majority of poor in the State. As a constitutional mandate in ensuring fundamental rights of the citizens of the State, it is the primary duty of the Government to ensure water supply for drinking, sanitation and other consumption need as a basic service but the Government has failed to discharge its basic commitment to the poor while the sources of water for the poor is increasingly getting inaccessible. It has impacted the poor by restricting their human right to free access to adequate and quality water from natural sources.
A large majority of poor still depend on surface water for survival in the absence of alternative private and Government sources such as ground water and Government supplied pipe water system. Many of them do not have homestead land and finance to invest for getting safe water at their door step. It is not that people are not aware about heath and sanitation but they lack the minimum opportunity to ensure safe water and sanitation for them. Majority of people in urban slums, rural hamlets and interior parts remain untouched by the basic services of the Government and still depend on the traditional sources of water to meet the end. The safe bottled water is available in the market for the privileged rich who can afford it.
So without State investment, it is just impossible for the poor to get safe water at their household premises. The quality of life is very much linked to availability of adequate, clean and safe water without which the living condition will not improve. Water is closely linked to sanitation; the non availability of water at house takes the poor near to surface water sources mostly the river banks, streams, canals and ponds for open defecation and bath.
In spite of strong water pollution laws, the surface water is getting contaminated due to a number of reasons in the absence of proper pollution control mechanism and treatment plan. The people’s protest against pollution has never taken place seriously by the Government while the powerful polluters continue with anti-people activities under the protection of the State power. Water pollution affects the poor most as they are mostly dependant on the surface water for their survival. Consumption of polluted water makes them amenable to various kinds of water-borne diseases and they end up in spending a big chunk of their income in health check-up and buying medicine. As usual their poor ill health affects normal working days and thus income level. The children, elders and women in their family are the worst sufferers as they mostly depend on others to access water.
Studies says more than 20 per cent of the communicable diseases in the country are linked to unsafe water and water borne diseases such as diarrhoea. Jaundice has been a major cause of concern in the State of late. The recent outbreak of jaundice in several parts like Sambalpur, Kendrapada, Puri, Khurda, Keonjhar, Jajpur, Jharasuguda and Baragarh has been affecting thousands of people. The worst situation in Sambalpur district has claimed more than 20 lives and affected about 3,000 people. It is revealed that the contaminated poor water quality and un-hygienic sanitary condition are the major reasons of such man-made disaster which are creating havoc for the urban slum dwellers and people living in villages where the basic services of drinking water supply and sanitation are neglected. It is told that along with ensuring safe drinking water as basic health infrastructure, personal hygiene, open defecation should be curbed to control such epidemics. A number of private studies have established the fact that mining and industrial pollution, urban waste, medical waste and human waste due to open defecation are the major source of surface water pollution. The water of major rivers like Mahanadi, Brahmani, Baitarani, Subarnarekha, Nagabali and Rusikulya are getting polluted hitting lakhs of families inhabiting on the river banks.
River water still remains the only major source of the rural and urban poor in almost all parts of the Sate. The river water is also being used by all major cities through pipe connection. The water distribution infrastructure in the cities is in worst form. The water treatment and waste water management systems are also in disarray. It is fact that almost the water supply pipe lines are damaged with linkages and passes in most cities in the State. The pipe water mixes with filthy drainage systems leading to water contamination.
Consumption of contaminated water results in jaundice. As a part of its jaundice control effort, the district administration in Sambalpur has used tanker and stopped the supply of drinking water through pipe lines. But this is just a quick-fix, not a permanent solution.
It is unfortunate that the Government is more serious about the industrialization by using all opportunities to make water available to the industries and mines. At the same time, no effort has been made to control water pollution and ensure water supply connection for the poor people in the periphery. The water pipe connection project remains non-implemented in the State in spite of availability of huge funds. He funds remain unspent due to bureaucratic apathy and lack of political concern for the poor. Whenever any unwanted situation arises, the Government has been busy in damage control efforts. Though the Government is aware about the situation, but it is doing nothing for a long term solution of the serious problems.
The State development discourse has not recognized social sector development such as water and sanitation without which the overall economic development will not happen. The economic policy lacks sectoral integration and integrating poor people in the development process. The national rural drinking water programme has targeted to cover minimum 50 per cent households with safe pipe drinking water by 2017 without barrier of social and financial discrimination. The Odisha water policy 1994 and State water plan 2004 in line with the National water policy has identified rural and urban water supply programme as one of the priority sectors of concern. The National water policy affirms for equity in water distribution and social justice in allocation of water resources to different sector. It says the State has to ensure democratic access of people to natural resources for life and livelihood and the monopoly of rich over the use of water should be restricted.
Recently, the Prime Minister has given thrust to water availability in every village and link the local river with the village so that the people have access to safe drinking water and other consumption need.
The villages are also targeted to be defecation free. The integrated water supply plan includes waste water treatment and recycle plan. The State Government should focus on basic services for the poor, especially water supply by integrating its rural development plan to ensure water for the poor in the context of water privatization and water pollution problem. The Government should invest more in providing basic services to the poor by involving the private sector, the PRIs and others concerned to enable the poor get access to adequate and safe water as their basic human rights.
(The writer is a rights activist who can be contacted at ojaabbsr@gmail.com)