Inequality in water consumption patterns

It is interesting to look at the consumption pattern of water amongst the various population in India. There is an urban, rural divide and also difference in rich & poor in consumption pattern. Majority of people live in rural areas and most of them have limited or no access to tap water, 24/7 running water. They have to walk for miles to fetch water which is a major task for the women folk every day. They manage to get around 2 / 3 pots of water each day which is 10 liters of water for all the house hold use. On an average, per capita consumption of water in a city like Delhi is 225 to 250 liters per day. Poor people living in slums of Delhi do not have access to water sources so the average per capita in such areas is only around 33 liters per day.

Now we see there is a huge distinction between the usage patterns of water for domestic use. Particularly between urban rural divide and rich – poor. Some use 10 to 33 liters per day and the others use 250 liters per day!!!

It is important to understand the politics of use of water, lot of consumers in the affluent areas need so much water for daily house hold use which is generally for bathing (showers), washing machines, kitchen use, gardening etc. in poor quarters of the city and large tracks of rural areas people have access to water sources only to cook and bath.

If this scenario continues, there will be a situation where the haves will use more leaving less to poor house holds. The future trend should call for action to encourage rich consumers to use less so that poor quarters have some more to use which is dignifying and humane.

Guru Bhai