KEY TRENDS

• Some 1.6 million children die each year from diarrhea and other gastrointestinal diseases for which contaminated drinking water is a leading cause@

• In rural areas the major source of drinking water (most often used) was ‘tube well/hand pump’ in respect of 55 per cent of households followed by ‘tap’ for 30 per cent of households# 

• Nearly 65 per cent of rural households had no latrine facility#

• Nearly 18 per cent of rural households had all three facilities (drinking water within premises, latrine and electricity)#

• The Department of Drinking Water Supply’s figures show that out of a total of 1,50,7349 rural habitations in the country, 74.39% (11,21,366 habitations) are fully covered and 14.64% (2,20,165 habitations) are partially covered*

• About 66 million population is at risk due to excess fluoride in 200 districts of 17 States* 

• Arsenic contamination is widespread in West Bengal and it is now seen in Bihar, eastern UP, and Assam*

@ Providing Safe Water: Evidence from Randomized Evaluations by Amrita Ahuja, Michael Kremer and Alix Peterson Zwane, April, 2010

# Housing Condition and Amenities in India, 2008-09, National Sample Survey

* 11th Five Year Plan, Planning Commission, Government of India