SOME FACTS RELATED TO WATER WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO INDIA

• 20% of the world's population do not have access to safe drinking water.
• 40% do not have sufficient water for adequate living and hygiene.
• More than 2.2 million people die each year from diseases related to contaminated drinking water.
• Per capita availability of fresh water in India has dropped from 5,177 cubic meters in 1951 to 1,820 cubic meters in 2001.
• India with 16% of the world's population has only 4% of the fresh water resources.
• In many rural areas, women still have to walk a distance of about 2.5 kms to reach the source of
  water. On an average, a rural woman walks more than 14000 km a year just to fetch water.
• Water source being open dug well, the quality of water is poor; dirty, saline and has turbidity.