The Struggle for Water in India
Picture: Many people in India struggle to get clean water. Sometimes they struggle to get any water at all. In the Picture above, the people get their water from wells, puddles, drains, and aqueducts running through the streets.Summary:
Recently, India has been facing a clean water crisis. The water that flows from the sacred Yamuna River and runs through New Delhi is full of sludge and garbage. Most of the population is getting the dirty water from this river. A ruling from the Supreme Courts has not been acted upon for years which stated that the treatment of the water that flows through the Yamuna is necessary. Only parts of India actually treat the water that they get from rivers. In some areas on India, private tanks of water are brought in for the community. The thing is, the water almost never gets there on time. The wives of India have had to quit their jobs in order to watch for the tanks that pass through to get their fair share. There are pipes that run through India, but those pipes leak more than 30% of the time. To make things worse, new apartment complexes are popping up in New Delhi that use the water crisis as a means to market their amenities. Some of the public have already become complacent with the quality of their water.
Response/ Reflection/ Connections:
This water crisis has been going on since before 2006. It is heartbreaking to learn that children and wives are forced to stay home from school and work, which are means of making money, to wait for trucks that carry low quality water. The precedent law has not been enforced which gives people the right to preform rituals over and in the Yamuna river. India is the world'd largest democracy, but it seems like the government is struggling to give people the freedom to access clean water. This makes me and other think about how precious a commodity water is. I remember learning about water pollution in middle school, we only talked about how it happens here in the United States. This article shows the rest of the world the problems that face countries throughout the world. The lack of drinking water affects populations, economies, infrastructure, and even the government. Sometimes we forget just how important a little thing like water is.
Think about it!:
1) What ways can the people of India get fresher water besides the tank trucks?
2) How they make their sewage systems more efficent at holding ans distributing water?
3) What do you think about the fact that families are losing income just for fresh water?
a) Do you agree?
b)Why do you agree/dsagree
(Source)
This is definitely an issue. We tend to take water, along with many other things, for granted because we always have it them available at our fingers. I think that one thing that could be done specifically for India, is outside of each city, have a set of solar panels, powering burners that will boil India's natural water to make it cleaner and unpolluted. We need to face that the tank trucks are not going to work. Also, in general, world governments need to take a look through all the minor issues, because it's the small things that are killing the human race. The problem is that if something negative affects some people but not the lawmakers, then it is not of any priority. That is a careless and neglecting habit. And this is an entire country with a near lack of clean, even just safe at the least, water. Water is essential to all human life and is necessary to be provisioned for India. I think that it's terrible families lose money just to survive because when a tank truck comes in, the water is not divided evenly, so whoever comes first gets what they want. Water should be given to everyone. Money is one thing that has to be earned, but all deserve a right to live. That is in our constitution, and though it's only the American constitution, it is a general right for all humans.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely an important issue and there are several different ideas of how to fix it. The thing to decide is which will work the best. They can't have people skipping work to watch for trucks. People need money to keep their families alive and to be able to put dinner on the table. Now those new apartment complexes might not be as bad as you think. Some people do it our of the good of their hearts to help the residents there, but they can't afford to give away everything for free. I like Justin's idea of solar panels, but i feel that will barely make a dent in India's water crisis. They need a foundation more like America's sewage system and our water purifiers. Even if we could just sell those Pur water filters in India it would be a good start. I don't think the wives should have to give up their incomes for water that is barely okay for them to drink. It's unfair, but there will always be rough times in the world.
ReplyDeleteOpinion/Reflection: This issue affects the people of India in a huge way, and something must be done quickly to at least ease the pain. d not wait for trucks delivering water. They need to have a large source, and a healthy one. There are many possibilities of how to fix their issue over time. I like Mara's idea of supplying water filters, but as she said, that would just have to be a start. I think that the first thing that needs to be done is to start to restore, or at least try to restore, the river that provided them with water before the issue came about. They need not only fairly clean water to drink but for plenty of reasons. They need to absolutely find a natural source of water to rely on, whether it is the river that they used before, or a different source. Water cannot be imported, simply because they would never have enough. Something needs to be done withing the country of India. They need a source of water naturally.
ReplyDeleteExpansion: Referring to the question about what I think about people losing income for fresh water, I completely understand. Water is vital to life, and without water people cannot live. Income is another thing. Income is needed to live, but not directly. Without income, one cannot live a good life, but they could live off of water. With good income and absolutely no water, one cannot live. That is why people are losing income over water.
Matthew Newman
ReplyDeleteOpinion/ Reflection
After reading this, it made me feel very fortunate that I can get water from the sink or water fountain every time that I turn it on without even having to think about it. I have found this interesting ever since I first learned about this problem in Global Studies. I don’t understand why the people of India do not do anything to try to limit or stop polluting the rivers where they get their water supply? I also think that it is ridiculous that wives have to quit their jobs just so they can get water when the water truck arrives so that they do not miss it.
Answer to Question 1:
In order for the people of India to possibly drink the water that they have, I think that they could boil the water to kill all of the germs and stuff of that nature. The people of India could also buy the water bottles/ pitchers that purify the water like some do here in the U.S.