97 per cent households yet to get safe drinking water

India’s leading Community Social Media platform, LocalCircles, conducted this Survey on its platform.
Image used for representative purposes only. (File Photo)
Image used for representative purposes only. (File Photo)

NEW DELHI: A survey shows that around 97 per cent of households do not trust the quality of the water supplied to them by their local bodies. However, the number of households reduced by one per cent from last year.

India’s leading Community Social Media platform, LocalCircles, conducted this Survey on its platform. The survey received over 26,000 responses from citizens located in 305 districts of the country. The survey caught the perception of people who believed that the quality of locally supplied water has improved. Last year, only 35 per cent of surveyed people rated the quality of locally supplied water in the ‘good’ category. 

This year, their number increased to 44 per cent in the last 12 months. However, 14 per cent of households termed the quality of supplied water as poor, while 32 per cent of people termed the quality as average. “The reason might be due to better participation of the local community at grassroots governance and regular quality testing of water being done under the Jal Jeevan Mission,” says Sachin Taparia, co-founder and chief executive officer of LocalCircles.

Meanwhile, ‘good’ water quality doesn’t mean drinkable or potable water. Only 3 per cent of households do not use any purifiers, and they drink directly from the tap.  However, the rest of 97 per cent of households use some means, such as RO systems, water purifiers, etc., to clean their supplied water.

In most surveyed households, around 44 per cent use a RO system to clean the water. Another 28 per cent use a water purifier, followed by 11 per cent who use boiled water before drinking. 5 per cent use clay vessels for purification, while another 5 per cent buy bottled water instead of cleaning at home.

“The quality of water produced at filtration plants may be top-class, but its quality worsens as the water travels through the trunk mains to service reservoirs,” says Taparia. “the gradual deterioration in the quality of water is because most of the last-mile pipeline networks are poorly maintained,” he adds.

Survey’s findings

  • Only 3 per cent of households do not use any purifiers, and drink directly from the tap
  • Among surveyed households, around 44 per cent  use an RO system to clean the water
  • Water quality at filtration plants may be top-class, but its quality worsens as the water travels through the trunk mains

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The New Indian Express
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