Access to Safe DrinkingWater in Rural Punjab: An Evaluation of Community Reverse Osmosis (RO) Installed in Muktsar District

Lack of access to safe water takes a considerable toll on the health and economic well-being of India's population, and largely affects those in rural areas. Reflections of lack of access to safe drinking water in India are clearly seen in the statistics that about 38 million people are affected by waterborne disease and about 400, 000 deaths are attributed to contaminated water in India each year. Rural poor in India are more vulnerable to waterborne diseases due to their non-affordability to easy access to safe drinking water. Contamination of water at different levels through different sources is also sharply reflected in high incidence of cancer disease in Punjab. The rate of cancer incidences in the Punjab State is 30.5/lakh population whereas the rate is as high as 75/lakh in Bathinda and Muktsar districts. Various international organisations, national authorities, and state governments are continuously working to address the stark reflection of water contamination in the health charts. Government effort for the provision of and access to safe drinking water through the installation of community RO systems in the villages of Punjab is a welcome step. The articleis an attempt to evaluate the functioning of installed RO systems; study the availability and affordability of potable RO water; record the difficulties faced by people in procuring RO potable water; and suggest ways for easy access to safe drinking water. The findings reveal comfortable and affordable access to community RO facility, People do not face any major problem at these facilities. The expenditure incurred by the state government for the installation of reverse osmosis plants in rural areas is a productive investment to secure good health of the people. However, rigorous steps are further required to take this initiative to another level of community-managed RO systems.