The World Bank in a recent report has raised concern regarding the "poor situation" of drinking water in West Bengal's Sundarbans and claimed that high instances of diarrhoea have been reported from the region, the Lok Sabha was informed today.
In his reply, Minister of State for Water Resources Sanwar Lal Jat said the report -- 'Building Resilience for Sustainable Development of the Sundarbans' -- highlights scarcity of sweet water in the region due to saline intrusion, limited availability of sweet water aquifers and submergence of water sources during floods and irregular supply of good quality bleaching power for disinfection.
As per the report, an estimated 1,925 deaths and over 1.5 million cases of diarrhoea were reported in the Sunderbans in 2008, Jat said.
The West Bengal government has commissioned rural water supply schemes in 372 villages covering 12.60 lakh populations in North 24 Paraganas and South Paraganas districts, he said.
The West Bengal government is implementing a programme to raise the height of tube-wells to avoid their submergence, the minister said, adding, some pilot projects have successfully recharged aquifers with rainwater to reduce the salinity.
"Under West Bengal Action Plan on Climate Change, Sunderbans has been identified for improving the condition of drinking water supply also," he added.
Sundarbans, home to the world's largest mangrove forest, is situated in both North and South 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal.
