BackIndia has maximum number of people without safe water: Report
The report, released by WaterAid, says that 5% of India's population is without safe water
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New Delhi: Approximately 76 million people in India have no access to safe water supply, according to a report released by WaterAid, a non-profit organization.
The report, titled Water: at what cost? The state of the world’s water 2016, said, “Poor management of water resources is the biggest problem holding India back from reaching all of its population with water supplies. Aquifers provide 85% of drinking water but levels are falling in 56% of the county."
The report said that 5% of India’s population is without safe water. China has the second largest number with 63.2 million people without access to safe water.
Avinash Kumar, director of programs and policy at WaterAid, said, “Even though significant development has been made in terms of absolute numbers, India continues to top the list of people who don’t have access to water."
“Since 1990 there has been a huge progress. Water crisis remains the most important today. In the Swachh Bharat mission, while sanitation has come under the limelight, water is missing. Water is sliding down the political priority," Kumar added.
The report said that the cost of 50 litres of water is 17% of a typical poor person’s salary. This goes up to as high as 54% in Papua New Guinea, 45% in Madagascar and 4% in Zambia.
“For a poor person in the developing world with no access to safe water at home, buying the recommended 50 litres a day can be a huge drain on their meagre salary," the report added.
The report says that the reason people continue to struggle to access water is because of lack of money or political priority, the government’s inability to deliver and deep inequality.
“Those in remote or rural locations are much less likely to have a reliable water source. However, even in cities, the poorest people are often socially excluded," the report said.
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