Pollution of drinking water is a major cause of concern in the world, particularly in India. On the one hand, there are millions who do not have access to water in our country, whereas on the other, there are those who could have access but paid a heavy price by losing their lives. Polluted water killed seven people a day in India in 2018 despite available vaccines and medicines, whereas 36,000 people were diagnosed with water-borne diseases every day. Overall, 2,439 died of water-borne diseases, and more than 1.3 crore people were diagnosed with these diseases in 2018.
Water Pollution: Types
There are two types of water-borne diseases: geogenic (caused by nature) and anthropogenic (man-made). Chemicals like fluoride and arsenic are largely geogenic although some industries also contribute to such pollution through overexploitation. As per data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), 50 per cent of the 620 districts in India have contaminated groundwater. The Ministry of Water Resources says that 56 per cent of Indians depend on groundwater.
Water-borne Diseases
There are four major water-borne diseases—cholera, acute diarrhoea diseases (ADD), typhoid, and viral hepatitis. Of these, ADD was the biggest killer, accounting for 1,450 (60 per cent) of the 2,439 deaths in 2018. In the past five years from 2014 to 2018, 11,768 people died while 7.6 crore were diagnosed. ADD claimed the most lives (7,057), followed by viral hepatitis (2,407) and typhoid (2,283) during five years.
Causes of Deaths
(i) Problematic Healthcare System As per the dean of Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), this problem is largely due to inaccess to healthcare. Medicines for all these diseases are there, but not available to the patients.
(ii) Overuse of Antibiotics Overuse of antibiotics is another major reason for deaths. People keep on taking antibiotics while the disease still persists because people do not have the facility of primary healthcare centres (PHCs) as 80 per cent of the cases in hospitals are related to PHCs.
International Scenario
On July 28, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) had explicitly recognised water and sanitation as essential human rights in its Resolution 64/292. Yet only 50 countries provide drinkable tap water as per a travel advisory by the US’ Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As per UN estimates, 2.1 billion people did not have access to safe drinking water in 2017.
Europe, Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea make the bulk who provide drinking water on tap. High-income countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Israel as well as middle-income countries such as Chile, Costa Rica, and Palau also provide drinking water on tap.
Industrialised countries have very strict regulations in this matter. In the US, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) regulates this issue, including drinking water sources like rivers, lakes, reservoirs, springs, etc.
In the UK, the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) deals with public water supply issues and takes action if the concerned authorities fail to maintain the specific standards.
In Singapore, the Environmental Public Health Regulations 2008, based on WHO guidelines, regulates drinking water issues.
In Australia, this job is taken care of by the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG).
And the EU parliament also voted in favour of an update of the rules so as to increase consumer confidence and encourage the drinking of tap water.
Therefore, it now becomes necessary for the Indian government to look into this matter seriously and enact a law to regulate the issue properly.
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