Drinking water crisis in Berhampur

Drinking water crisis in this south Odisha city is likely to become acute in the coming days as the Rushikulya river, the main source of water supply here, is drying up.
There has been no rainfall in the district for last some months.
At present, 48 million litre per day (mld) are being supplied to the town from all sources - Dakhinapur impounding reservoir (30 mld), Madhapur water supply project (16 mld) and borewells (2 mld) against the requirement of 54 mld for over four lakh people in the city, officials said.
The requirement would increase in peak summer, they said adding the issue was discussed at a recent high-level meeting presided over by state Higher Education Minister Pradeep Panigrahy.

He asked the water resources department, public health engineering organisation (PHEO) engineers and Berhampur Municipal Corporation officials to coordinate for ensuring smooth water supply in summer.
"Since Rushikulya is drying up, we are in talk with water resources department to divert water from Harabhangi river to Rushikulya. If the water is diverted, there will be no problem to pump out water from the Rushikulya," Sitaram Panda, Executive Engineer, PHED (Berhampur) said.

He said at least a dozen production wells (underground tankers), constructed at different parts of the city, would be made operational by end of March. The production wells would supply around 50-lakh litres of water.

"We have also decided to install 1,000-litre water tankers at some of the water-scarce areas. Around 80 such areas have been identified," he added.
(REOPENS MDS 9)
The report says for a poor person in the developing world
with no access to safe water at home, buying the recommended 50 litres a day can be a huge drain on their meager salary.
"Many people have no choice but to compromise their health and dignity by using much less or collecting water from unsafe sources," it says.
Noting that the World Health Organization specifies 50 litres per person per day as the recommended 'intermediate' quantity needed to maintain health, hygiene and for all domestic uses, the report says, diarrhoeal diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation are world's second biggest child killer - taking 315,000 children's lives every year.

"Fifty per cent of child malnutrition is associated with unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene, placing a huge burden on fragile healthcare systems.
Businesses' productivity is hit hard by staff absenteeism, turnover and low morale related to lack of access to clean, safe water in workplaces," it says.
The report says the more than 650 million of the world's poorest people are living without access to an 'improved' source of drinking water.
"The price paid by these communities- in wasted income, ill-health, and lost productivity - is extremely high, and has a devastating impact from the family to the national level," it adds.