4. Water pollution

Contaminated water can transmit diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and polio. According to WHO (World Health Organisation), contaminated drinking water is estimated to cause around 4,85,000 diarrhoeal deaths each year. It is estimated that by \(2025\), half (\(50\)%) of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas. In the least developed countries, \(22\)% of health care facilities have no water service, \(21\)% no sanitation service, and \(22\)% no waste management service.

 

India is facing large scale water pollution for a long time. Both surface and groundwater bodies are polluted to a great extent.   Around 80% of India’s water is highly polluted due to dumping garbage, raw sewage, and silt into the country’s rivers and lakes.

 

Every year, more than \(1.5\ million\ \)children die from diarrhoea in India. Out of the entire Indian population, experts predict that \(40%\) of people may not connect to a clean water source by 2030.