Take the case of village Gordhia in Chatra district of Jharkhand, where people mostly work as labourers and peasants.
Most of the people living in the village are below poverty line and government schemes on water barely reach these far off villages.
Across the border of Jharkhand state in Bihar, Akhilesh Prajapt, 55 from Village Siba in Gaya district has a similar story to share.
He also works as a labourer and the village has been witnessing water scarcity since last three years.
According to Najeeb Ahmed, a volunteer of Hyderabad-based Sahayata Trust in Bihar and Jharkhand, which helps people in these villages by installing hands pumps and bore wells, “Most of the villagers work as labourers and installing a hand pump requires digging deep in the ground up to 275 to 300 feet.
The poor population is forced to buy water at inflated prices from ‘water mafia’.
Similarly, in Kammimpet village of Vellore district in Tamil Nadu, Beedi workers earning barely Rs 100 a day have a very hard time to fetch drinking water.
Every day they have to undergo on a journey for miles in agricultural lands fitted with bore wells to fill their water pots.
The bore wells on agricultural lands are few and people who need water are more.
These ponds used to serve as a source of drinkable water for more than 1000 villages.

GLAAS Report Calls for Tripling Investments to Meet SDG Targets on Sanitation and Drinking Water.
13 April 2017: “The current level of WASH (Water for Sanitation and Health) financing is not sufficient to fund plans inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and falls short of future requirements,” according to the 2017 ‘Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water’ (GLAAS) report.
The report, subtitled ‘Financing Universal Water, Sanitation and Hygiene under the Sustainable Development Goals,’ examines data from 75 countries and 25 external support agencies on issues related to financing universal access to water and sanitation under the SDGs.
SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation has targets that call for: achieving universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030 (target 6.1); achieving, also by 2030, access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and ending open defecation (target 6.2); and supporting and strengthening the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management (target 6B).
The report highlights that “recent global estimates show a tremendous gap in financing to achieve the water supply, sanitation, and hygiene SDG 6 targets.” It finds that over 80% of countries report insufficient finance for both urban and rural areas in meeting national targets for drinking-water and sanitation, as well as those for water quality.
In the publication’s forward, Guy Ryder, Chair of UN-Water and International Labour Organization Director-General, and WHO Director-General Margaret Chan note that this financing gap is “one of the greatest barriers to achieving these [SDG] targets.” They point out that to meet targets 6.1 and 6.2 alone, capital financing would need to triple to US$114 billion per annum, not including operating and maintenance costs.
The UN has called on countries to “radically” increase investments in water and sanitation infrastructure.
The report features five main findings: that national WASH budgets are increasing as countries prepare to take on board the SDGs, yet a discrepancy remains between global aspirations and national realities; the SDGs require greater ambitions for WASH, but there remains a lack of financial sustainability for reaching the unserved and maintaining services; more and better data are available for informed decision making; official development assistance (ODA) disbursements for water and sanitation are increasing, but future investments are uncertain; and extending WASH services to vulnerable groups is a policy priority, but implementation is lagging behind.
Every two years, the GLAAS report is released by the WHO on behalf of UN-Water, the inter-agency coordination mechanism for all freshwater-related issues, including sanitation.
[UN Press Release] [UN Water Press Release] [Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS 2017 Report): Financing Universal Water, Sanitation and Hygiene under the Sustainable Development Goals] [Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform]

The Trump administration is coming for your clean water.
Just a few days ago, Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took a first step toward trying to roll back standards for our biggest source of toxic water pollution: coal-fired power plants.
It turns out that nearly 40 percent of all coal plants discharge toxic pollution within five miles of a downstream community’s drinking water intake.
However, a polluter lobby group had petitioned EPA to review (and ultimately revoke) the standard, and newly-minted EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has been happy to oblige.
He recently informed a court that he would act on the decision and revisit the standard – despite it having been the law of the land for well over a year.
To make matters worse, he also halted upcoming compliance deadlines in the meantime.
Imagine what this feels like for residents in Monroe, Michigan, who enjoy all types of recreation along Lake Erie.
For them, “back to basics” means listening only to fossil fuel companies.
The Sierra Club and our allies are going to fight these rollbacks every step of the way.
We need your help and support.

BELAGAVI: A village in Belagavi’s Khanapur taluk has come up with a drastic solution to tackle its water crisis.
Villagers of drought-hit Maan are getting only two pots of drinking water against one ration card, every alternate day, from the village well.
Maan is about 50 km from Belagavi.
Villagers say the taluk administration has not supplied water through tankers despite several reminders.
That’s when village elders decided to hold a meeting recently and come up with the ration card proposal.
Villagers also trek a distance of 4km inside the deep forests to get water that is contaminated for other purposes.
But it didn’t install a water pump.
Another water source exists, but it is 6km away.
With temperatures soaring each day and summer set to peak next month, the worries of the villagers have only increased.
Their only option is to migrate.

Ads by Kiosked Anantapur: Left parties including CPI and CPM held a dharna outside the Zilla Parishad premises on Monday morning, demanding among other things including initiation of drought relief measures, arresting migration and finding a permanent solution to drinking water problems in the district.
MLCs Gopal Reddy and Katthi Narsimha Reddy, CPM district secretary Obula Konda Reddy, CPI leader Jaafar and others participated.
Gopal Reddy and Narsimha Reddy demanded the state government to find permanent solution to drinking water problems of the district.
Even in municipal areas, women had to stand in long queues waiting for their turn for a pot of water.
The government must take immediate measures to arrest distress migration caused by severe drought conditions and rising Mercury levels, the Left leaders said.
They also demanded a special package for the district to bail out farmers and agricultural labourers in distress.
Left party leaders Obula Konda Reddy called upon the government to immediately intervene and address the problems of the district on the war footing.
Earlier, the Left party workers gheraoed TDP MP Diwakar Reddy when he arrived at the ZP premises to attend the general body meeting.
They demanded the MP to take up the problems of the district with the Chief Minister and also raise the pressing issues of the district in the Parliament.
Uravakonda MLA also supported the dharna organised by the Left parties.

Resolve drinking water Scarcity: CPI.
Ads by Kiosked Tirupati: The CPI leaders and women staged a protest in front of the Sub-Collector’s office here on Monday, demanding the state government to resolve drinking water scarcity and to stop migration of farmers to cities.
They staged a demonstration with empty pitchers to highlight the severity of drinking water shortage.
Speaking on the occasion, CPI state committee member G Obulesu asked the TDP government why it was not implementing the NTR Sujala Sravanthi which provides 20 litres of water for Rs 2.
The CPI leader flayed the Chief Minister for failing to save crops with rain guns.
“The government has only wasted crores of rupees as there was no result with rain guns.
The Chief Minister is ruling the state with lies,” Obulesu alleged.
The CPI leader lamented that farmers are migrating to cities due to drought and problem is even worse in Anantapur district.
The fodder is not being supplied to livestock in summer, he said.
The people of Tirupati urban and rural were experiencing server water scarcity.

17 April 2017 – Historically, the people in the Madan Mak and Loncy areas of the Lascahobas Commune have always had serious problems with access to safe drinking water.
When the cholera epidemic hit the Plateau Central, the need for safe potable water became crucial to eliminate the transmission of the disease.
The top United Nations humanitarian official in Haiti stressed that all efforts to ensure the provision of safe water and sanitation are crucial to eliminate cholera.
“It was an essential project for the area because the residents had no drinking water.
Certainly, without the help of MINUSTAH the project would never have happened and that is why we want to thank all those involved,” he added.
For Mr. Benlamlih, investment in the water, sanitation and hygiene sectors must continue, and donor support is vital for this effort.
We need donor support.
So we must not let go – and it is here that friends, partners and donors must continue to support and invest in this effort.” Part of this particular initiative – the project to capture the Mangoule source – aims to help the Haitian authorities to improve public infrastructure and the living conditions of its population.
As part of its new approach to tackle cholera, the UN wants to step up its support to the Haitian Government in the construction of drinking water, sanitation and health care systems, while developing a support package to provide material assistance to Haitians most directly affected by the disease.
We had no water to wash, no water to drink – and the cholera came to take away our lives.

17 April 2017 – Historically, the people in the Madan Mak and Loncy areas of the Lascahobas Commune have always had serious problems with access to safe drinking water.
When the cholera epidemic hit the Plateau Central, the need for safe potable water became crucial to eliminate the transmission of the disease.
The top United Nations humanitarian official in Haiti stressed that all efforts to ensure the provision of safe water and sanitation are crucial to eliminate cholera.
To address the concerns of those living in Mangoule, the Department of Artibonite proposed a new project to the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
“It was an essential project for the area because the residents had no drinking water.
Certainly, without the help of MINUSTAH the project would never have happened and that is why we want to thank all those involved,” he added.
For Mr. Benlamlih, investment in the water, sanitation and hygiene sectors must continue, and donor support is vital for this effort.
We need donor support.
So we must not let go – and it is here that friends, partners and donors must continue to support and invest in this effort.” Part of this particular initiative – the project to capture the Mangoule source – aims to help the Haitian authorities to improve public infrastructure and the living conditions of its population.
As part of its new approach to tackle cholera, the UN wants to step up its support to the Haitian Government in the construction of drinking water, sanitation and health care systems, while developing a support package to provide material assistance to Haitians most directly affected by the disease.

In Atlanta, where services had been privatized, quality spiraled downward, leading eventually to the city’s decision to re-municipalize water services.
Policy-makers and water utility managers are increasingly reaching into constituents’ and customers’ wallets to cover increasing costs.
When thinking about water affordability, we could consider how we pay for public education.
The Carrot and the Stick The U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization reports that globally 69 percent of water is used for agriculture, 19 percent for industry, and 12 percent for households and businesses.
While it’s good news that water utilities are paying more attention to protecting source water and watersheds — they’re the ones ultimately in the hot seat for ensuring safe water — it can’t be their job alone, and it’s unfair to their customers to carry all associated costs.
In that case, to avoid building a US$6 billion treatment plant, the New York City water utility has invested in source water protection measures more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) away, such as on-farm improvements that divert cow manure from drinking water sources.
States and cities may very well go broke making up for the hoped-for federal support, and yet, acutely aware of the consequences for their constituents if they don’t act swiftly, many have shored up deficient water systems, issuing almost US$38 billion in municipal bonds for infrastructure projects related to water and sanitation in 2016.
In cities across the country, citizens call for the need to keep water services public and affordable.
To whom will our diminishing supply of clean water flow?
Sharing source water protection costs; capitalizing municipal, state and federal water infrastructure funds; and keeping water public and in the public eye are just a few of the many steps we can take to keep water affordable and inequality in check.

Guntur dist in grip of severe water crisis.
Ads by Kiosked Guntur: Communist Party of India leaders staged dharna at Guntur Municipal Corporation office on Monday demanding the officials take steps to solve drinking water problem.
Addressing the dharna, the CPI state assistant secretary Muppalla Nageswara Rao said that residents of Macherla, Repalle, Bapatla, and Palnadu region are facing severe drinking water problem before onset of summer.
He said residents of over two hundred villages in the district are crying for drinking water.
He said the government has released Rs.12.60crore for Guntur district to solve drinking water problem and added that this amount is not enough to solve drinking water problem.
He said that drinking water tanks have dried in the district and groundwater tables fell to a record level due to deficit rainfall and high temperature.
He urged the officials to solve drinking water problem.Communist Party of India, district secretary Jangala Ajay Kumar demanded the GMC officials to lay drinking water pipelines to Pragathinagar and Chandra Rajeswara Rao Nagar and supply sufficient drinking water.
He warned that if the GMC did not take steps to solve drinking water problem, they would intensify their agitation.
Later, Muppalla Nageswara Rao and Jangala Ajay Kumar submitted a memorandum to GMC commissioner S.Nagalaskhmi to solve drinking water problem.
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