PO BAG 1: water supply

15 April 2016

As India reels from drought, gov't slammed for poor policies

In this April 12, 2016 photo, a boy who migrated from drought hit areas of the western Indian state of Maharashtra, carries water to his family's makeshift hut in Kukse Borivali, 85 kilometres (53 miles) north-east of Mumbai, India. Decades of groundwater abuse, populist water policies and poor monsoons have turned vast swaths of central and western India into a dust bowl, driving distressed farmers to suicide or menial day labor in the cities.

Shantabai Babulkar's day begins before dawn with a 5 kilometer (3 mile) trek across barren fields and dusty scrubland to fetch water from a distant well for her family.

The two metal pots of muddy water that Babulkar, 58, balances on her head and a third that she carries in the crook of her arm are the only source of water for her and the five members of her family for their day's needs of drinking, cooking and washing.

23 February 2016

Damage to India canal highlights Delhi's water vulnerability

Villagers walk next the Munak canal, near the village of Bindroli, India, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. Fears of a water crisis in the Indian capital eased Monday with security forces securing a canal in Haryana, which provides 60 percent of its water needs.

Engineers were working to restore New Delhi's full water supply Tuesday after protesters damaged a key canal in a neighboring state and disrupted supplies over the weekend — highlighting the extreme water vulnerability faced by the Indian capital's 18 million residents.

Some supplies resumed to northern and central parts of New Delhi, and will hopefully reach western neighborhoods by Tuesday evening, said Delhi's water minister, Kapil Mishra. In the meantime, 70 water tankers have been sent to western areas of the city where taps have been dry for up to two days.