The theme of this year's World Water Day - marked annually on 22 March - is "Nature for Water", which "explores nature-based solutions (NBS) to the water challenges we face in the 21st century" according to the United Nations Environment Programme.The challenges are tough as the UN notes that currently 2.1 billion people "lack access to safely managed drinking water services," while an estimated 1.8 billion "use an unimproved source of drinking water with no protection against contamination from human faeces." Business Standard takes a look at the water challenges faced in India.

World Water Day: Photos that depict the water challenges in India

A boy runs over a shallow section of the Ganga river in Allahabad. India might face 50 per cent water deficit by 2030 according to a report of Asian Development Bank.

Running on shallow water

A boy takes a dip in the polluted waters of river Yamuna, near ITO in New Delhi. Almost 90 per cent of child deaths from diarrhoeal diseases are directly linked to contaminated water, lack of sanitation, or inadequate hygiene.

A deadly bath

A woman drinks the polluted water as she offer prayers on the banks of river Yamuna, near Kalindi Kunj in New Delhi. Nearly 70 per cent of Indians do not have adequate access to safe water for sanitation and hygiene.

Drinking poison

A view of foam-covered waters, as a result of pollution in the river Yamuna, near the metro bridge of Kalindi Kunj in New Delhi. The river, often called Delhi’s lifeline has virtually no aquatic life - thanks to over 20 drains that pour untreated sewage and other waste into the river.

The choking river 

A woman walks past a woodland with a pot of water, in Baramulla district of North Kashmir. One in four rural households spends more than half an hour walking to a water source, according to the Indian Human Development Survey.

In search of clean water

Residents of Arundhati Nagar collect water from a tanker in Bengaluru. Water supplied by tankers in municipal towns, drinking of river and tank water without purifying the same and inefficient water treatment plants are major sources of unsafe water.

The quest for safe water

A slum dweller sucks at a water pipe in an attempt to restore the flow of water from the municipality supply, in Kolkata. India’s estimated per capita availability of water in 2025 will be 1,341 cubic metre. This may further fall to 1,140 cubic metre in 2050, bringing it closer to becoming water-scarce.

Guzzling on municipal supply

A dog looks on as it stands among the solid waste dumped into Adi Ganga at Kalighat in Kolkata. A survey found that discharge of untreated solid waste is the single most important source of pollution of surface and ground water in India.

Walking on Solid waste

A woman washes utensils on the bank of a tributary of River Jhelum, which is contaminated by human waste and garbage, in Baramulla district of North Kashmir. While India ranks top among nations that have improved access to water, it also has the most people without clean water availability close to home.

Cleaning in sooty water

Women of Reang tribe collect water from a rivulet in Damchara hills on the outskirts of Panisagar. The widespread global lack of access to water has been attributed to multiple inequalities but gender intensifies the inequality, a report stated.

Gender problems in water collection

The theme of this year's World Water Day - marked annually on 22 March - is "Nature for Water", which "explores nature-based solutions (NBS) to the water challenges we face in the 21st century" according to the United Nations Environment Programme.The challenges are tough as the UN notes that currently 2.1 billion people "lack access to safely managed drinking water services," while an estimated 1.8 billion "use an unimproved source of drinking water with no protection against contamination from human faeces." On World Water Day, Business Standard takes a look at the water challenges faced in India.