Survey by NGO Arghyam covered more than 17,000 households
Survey by NGO Arghyam covered more than 17,000 households
The survey, which looks at household water and sanitation, should help policymakers, says Arghyam chairperson Rohini Nilekani.
Arghyam, a public charitable foundation that focuses on water management, has released a survey of household water and sanitation called Ashwas. The survey, which covers 17,200 households in 172 gram panchayat
across 28 districts in Karnataka, was released by Governor Hans Raj Bharadwaj.
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Water wisdom: Governor Hans Raj Bhardwaj and Arghyam chairperson Rohini Nilekani (extreme right) at the function where the report was releasedu00a0Pic/Vinod Kumar T |
Talking about the survey, Rohini Nilekani, chairperson of Arghyam, said that one of the biggest problems with rural people is that they perceive water quality based on clarity of water and taste rather than zero contamination. "The findings of Ashwas will go back to the people in an easy-to-use format," she said.
Sunitha Nadhamuni, the CEO of Arghyam, said that it was encouraging that 80 per cent got water inside the house or very near the house. "However, the levels of fluoride are high and this is a cause for concern."
The findings are fine, but will the government do anything about it? Ravi Kumar, secretary of RDPR, government of Karnataka, said that the survey was useful because it gave a voice to the people.
"Usually, we only talk about what the government is doing, but now, we are also getting a user perspective," he pointed out.
While releasing the report, Governor Bharadwaj said that there is a need to strengthen public recognition of the impact of safe water and sanitation in improving public health.
"It is my hope that the findings and recommendations of this report are taken forward in a spirit of partnership between government and civil society," he concluded.
War within>>72 per cent of people still resort to open defecation
>>63 per cent don't treat their water before drinking
>>20 per cent reported incidents of chikungunya
>>82 per cent of those collecting water are women and girl children
>>56 minutes is the average time taken each day to collect water
