10^thAugust 2019   

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 1)Topic:- Geography & Social issues(health)(Prelims and Mains)                                                                            

 News:-  46.7% rural households of Punjab sans(means without) portable water.

 

 Previous context:- 1972, rural water supply scheme was launched with the help of national rural drinking

water program but even after 47 years, portable water at rural areas of Punjab is still a distant dream.

 

 Data from the Department of Water Supply & Sanitation(DWSS):-

•  Currently approx. 33 lakh households living in the rural area of the Punjab & only approx.. 17.5 lakh are being provided drinking through pipelines.
• 2018-19:- DWSS provided 1 lakh water connection but still approx. 15.5 lakh rural households don’t have access to safe drinking water.
•  Ferozpur and Gurdaspur have been the worst-hit district and Ropar, the highest number of rural household connections.

Drinking water a distant dream
33,01,599 households in rural areas of Punjab	17,59,212 getting drinking water through pipelines	87.79% have access to safe drinking water in Ropar District.
24.78% rural households get portable water in Ferozpur District.	23.47% are connected with pipelines in Gurdaspur District.

 (Source- The Tribune)

 

Consequences due to no access to Partable water:-

• Due to the absence of Portable water supply, the rural households have been extracting groundwater through submersible water pumps-posing a threat to the groundwater level.
• Punjab ranks the highest in the country for over-exploitation of groundwater.
• Waterborne disease spreading, years, June 2019—Diarrhoea was outbroken at Bathonian Khurd Village in Rajpura left two people dead & over 100 ill.

 

Government Initiative:-

• 2014, the state government has introduced,” Punjab State Rural Water supply & Sanitation Policy 2014”’ aiming to provide water through 24/7 piped & metered individual connection but even after 5 years, the government has not been able to implement this policy.

 

 

 

QUIZ:-

  Question:- Which district of Punjab has the highest number of Portable Water water access?

 

1. Ferozpur
2. Ropar
3. Gurdaspur
4. Moga

 

Answer:-

Q1:- 4

 

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