Clean water access for India’s poor spawns virus concerns

Dharam Singh Rajput can’t afford to buy hand sanitizer, which could help ward off transmission of coronavirus in his community.

Rajput family could opt for something more basic — soap and water — to achieve hand hygiene. But sometimes re is clean running water in ir neighborhood, which sits next to open sew canals and mounds of garb in heart of New Delhi, India’s capital. “ kind of water we have access to has potential to cause more diseases inste of warding off virus if we use it to wash our hands,” Rajput said.

Experts say keeping hands clean is one of easiest and best ways to prevent transmission of new coronavirus, in dition to social distancing. But for India’s homeless and urban poor who live in thousands of slums across major cities and towns, maintaining good hygiene can be nearly impossible.

About 160 million — more than population of Russia — of India’s 1.3 billion people don’t have access to clean water.

That could leave impoverished Indians like Rajput and his family at risk during virus outbreak.

“It could prove disastrous for people who don’t have access to clean water,” said Samrat Basak, director of World Resource Institute’s Urban Water Program in India. With India being world’s second-most populous country, and having weak health care facilities and growing concerns that re may be an undetected communal spre of virus , risks associated with lack of clean water aren’t being overstated. UNICEF said last week that almost 20% of urban Indians do t have facilities with water and soap at home. What could make things worse, experts say, is that social distancing is nearly impossible in many Indian cities that are among world’s most densely populated areas. So far, government has apparently been able to keep a lid on community transmission of virus. Authorities have confirmed 147 cases and three deaths, all linked to foreign travel or direct contact with someone who caught disease abro.

While coronavirus can be dely, particularly for elderly and people with or health problems, for most people it causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. Some feel symptoms at all and vast majority of people recover.

India’s government has me fervent appeals to public to practice social distancing and good hand hygiene. India also was one of first countries to essentially shut its borders and deny entry to all but a select few foreigners. But in a country as big as India, community transmission is all but inevitable, experts say.

“Clean water is first line of defense,” said V.K. Mhavan, India chief executive at WaterAid, a global vocacy group for water and sanitation. “If re is access to clean water, situation could worsen.”

India’s clean water problem isn’t new.

Hundreds of thousands of people wait in line every day to fill buckets from government water trucks. Hospitals and schools struggle with clean water supplies. People are forced to wash utensils and clos in dirty water.

About 600 million Indians face acute water shorts, according to government think tank NITI Aayog.

water crisis hits poor particularly hard since wealthy people can pay for water from private sources that those living in slums can’t afford.

mortality rate due to inequate or unsafe water is also high. About 200,000 people die each year in India from diseases related to unclean water. Insufficient water also les to food insecurity.

“When clean drinking water runs out, people will have choice but to rely on unsafe water,” said Dr. Anant Bhan, a global health researcher. “It could expose India’s huge population to extreme vulnerability.”

Government promises to provide clean water to many Indians have so far failed despite efforts by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that have been internationally lauded.

“Access to clean water is a basic human right,” said Mhavan. “ one should fear losing ir life because y couldn’t practice first line of defense, which is hand washing.” ___ Associated Press videojournalist Shonal Ganguly contributed to this report.

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(AP Photo/Altaf Qri)