With increasing water-borne diseases and a deteriorating quality of groundwater, India is facing a severe public health crisis. Water borne diseases account for nearly 77 per cent diseases in India.
Recent studies by the United Nations reveal that over one lakh people die in India annually due to water - borne diseases. It indicates that 70 million people in 20 states and 600 districts are at risk due to excess fluoride and around 10 million people are at risk due to excess arsenic in ground water.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified contamination of drinking water as a critical public health issue affecting more than 98,000 children with diarrhoea and other water borne diseases every year.
According to a nationwide survey by Eureka Forbes Institute of Environment, a non-profit organization and GFK Mode,part of the GfK group, the fourth largest research organization worldwide, titled ‘Kya Aapka Paani Beemar Hai’, among 55 per cent of the respondents, someone or other in the family/friends has fallen ill in the last one year.
The study was undertaken to understand the impact of water contamination and key issues with drinking water in India and in Bangalore. Especially the city of Bengaluru is reeling under severe water contamination which is adversely affecting the public health.
The main issues with drinking water are contamination, water colour and taste (71 per cent) followed by water hardness (30 per cent) and odour (10 per cent). However, even today 16 per cent people still drink tap water. While 53 per cent of Indians uses water purifier , 17 per cent used boil water and 14 per cent use packaged water.
The report also revealed that 50 per cent of people are not sure of the purity of water they use. At an overall level, five out of 10 people feel that diseases are caused by drinking impure water. At an overall level, contaminated water and hard water are prime areas of concern. While water contamination is a problem in Bangalore & Mumbai, hard water an issue in Kolkata, colour of water is a concern in Lucknow and bad taste is an issue in Chennai .
The water audit was aimed at mapping the causes and reasons that were affecting families and individuals in Bangalore and also across India due to increasing levels of water contamination and unavailability of safe, healthy drinking water.
The results of the survey interviewing 589 households revealed that water contamination is the biggest issue for more than 80 per cent households in Bangalore. Ground water samples collected and examined by the Eureka Forbes Institute revealed that some of the areas in Bangalore were badly hit by water contamination. Levels of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), hardness, chlorides, nitrates etc. responsible for water contamination have exceeded more than the permissible limits in certain parts of Bengaluru . Toxic chemicals such as arsenic and lead and disease-causing bacteria are also contributing to the alarming increase in the water contamination.
Due to increasing levels of water contamination, five out of every 10 respondents surveyed had someone in their family and friends falling sick in the last one year. Water- borne diseases have accounted for nearly 90 per cent of all diseases affecting public health. Incidences of deadly water-borne diseases like cholera, jaundice, typhoid, diarrhoea as well as common cold, cough and fever were higher amongst people accounting for about 90 per cent in Bangalore as compared to malaria, dengue and other diseases.
The WHO which has already identified drinking water contamination as a critical public health issue in India, has estimated that more than 98,000 children suffer from acute diarrhoea and other water borne diseases every year. According to UNICEF and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)'s study "Water in India: Situation and Prospects", the first cross-sectoral assessment of state of India water resources, contaminated water causes water-borne infections such as diarrhoea which can stunt growth and development in children.
A significant number of 42 per cent respondents have attributed unhealthy drinking water as the main cause for the diseases in their families. The study echoed a serious concern among 61 per cent respondents who agreed that their drinking water is not pure and hence is unfit for consumption.
The study also showed that not all respondents use proper purification methods to ensure safety of their drinking water. A large chunk of respondents – 58 per cent were using water purifiers as their primary mode of drinking water purification, followed by 13 per cent who boil drinking water and 19 per cent who use packaged drinking water for daily consumption. Surprisingly, even today about 11 per cent of Bangalore households drink water directly from taps.
This shows that a significant number of people are vulnerable to deadly water-borne diseases, especially during monsoons as the water contamination levels tend to increase.
Most of the respondents surveyed were really concerned about the quality of drinking water and increasing proportion of deadly water borne diseases occurring in their families. Water hardness, bad taste, colour and odour were some of the major issues highlighted by the respondents during the survey.
The audit also studied the sources of drinking water in households surveyed which was largely dominated by municipal water (48 per cent) which is relatively safer, followed by borewell (38 per cent) and tankers (14 per cent).
Sharing the findings of Eureka Forbes-GFK Water Audit, Dr Thuppil Venkatesh, Professor Emeritus Department of Bio-Chemistry and Bio-Physics at St. Johns Medical College, Bengaluru who also is an Advisor to The Quality Council of India (QCI), a visiting scholar in the university of Cincinnati USA, Director for National Referral Center for Lead Poisoning (NRCLP) in India said, “Water contamination is reaching alarming levels in India. There has been a growing concern about the increasing water contamination levels and its impact on lives of Indians which is much evident from the water audit. Some of the key issues like water contamination, hardness, increasing incidences of water borne diseases are shocking and alarming. He said India is on the verge of becoming the “world capital of lead poisoning”.”
Dr. Venkatesh said that when there is acute exposure to lead, and the concentration levels very high, there is damage to the central nervous system and the kidneys, the reduction of IQ especially in children is irreversible.
"One of the biggest concerns for public is accessibility to clean and healthy drinking water. Even today, a large section of society drink tap water risking their lives with deadly contaminants present in drinking water. The findings have thrown light on the fact that water contamination especially in ground water and hardness is a life-threatening issue about which needs larger public awareness".
Launching the report, Avadhut Dabholkar, GM - Consumer Experiences, GFK said, “With the number of water-borne diseases on the rise in India, casualty from drinking contaminated water is a pressing public health issue. It is important to educate people about the significance of drinking safe and healthy water. The purpose of this study was to gauge the extent of awareness of the problem of contamination in drinking water and how it is affecting the health of Indians.”
Eureka Forbes Ltd is India’s leading health and hygiene brand. It is a multi-product, multi-channel organization with a gross group turnover of Rs. 17, 767 million for the year ending March 31, 2013. A part of Shapoorji Pallonji Group, Eureka Forbes’ product portfolio encompasses water purification, vacuum cleaning, air purification and home security solutions. It has a base of 15 million customers, a reach of over 450 cities and towns in India and a global footprint across 35 countries. Aquaguard is its flagship water purifier brand which has been conferred with numerous Indian and international awards for its superior technology.