Only 8% Villagers Get Piped Water At Home, Says A Survey
A Gaon Connection survey said at least 61 percent of 18,000 rural Indians surveyed across 19 states get water through public taps.
Nearly a third of rural Indians have to walk, on an average, half a kilometre to fetch water, a survey said.
At least 61 percent of the 18,000 rural Indians surveyed across 19 states said their households get water through public taps or hand pumps, according to rural media platform Gaon Connection. Only 8 percent villagers said they get piped water at home.
Nearly 60 crore people in India are, at present, dealing with the worst water crisis that has hit the country ever, the report said, adding the most hit are those living in villages.
The Gaon Connection survey seeks to understand the state of the nation as experienced by Indians living in rural India. It comes ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget 2019 and paints a grim picture of agricultural communities. Unremunerative produce prices, lack of adequate financing, the vagaries of climate change and a deepening water crisis, among other issues, have prompted 48 percent of those surveyed to say they didn't want their children to pursue agriculture as an occupation.
Here are some of the highlights of the survey:
Selling Price For Crops
One of the biggest problems faced by farmers is that they don’t think they get the right price for their crops.
Over 60 percent of respondents surveyed said they should have the power to decide the selling price for their produce. Less than one-third said the onus of pricing the produce should remain with the government.
That’s despite the government increasing the minimum support prices for paddy, wheat, sugar and key kharif crops four times in the past 12 months.
Nearly 30 percent of respondents said better prices for their produce, among others, would fix their problems related to agriculture. About 41 percent said improving their access to irrigation will address their agri-related woes. For that they need diesel at affordable rates or electricity to operate pumps, according to the survey.
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Loans Remain Unavailable
More than half the rural Indians surveyed were unable to avail loans.
While 25 percent of farmers take loans amounting to up to Rs 50,000, 15 percent of all farmers borrowed loans amounting to up to Rs 5 lakh, according to the survey. There are many reasons why farmers don’t get to avail loans, including lack of proper information regarding loan facilities and tedious paperwork that discourages them to apply for loans, it said.
Last year, there was an increased clamour for farm loan waivers as agriculture has been facing multiple crises. Also, the government had announced direct income support of Rs 6,000 per year to small and marginal farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme. Rising costs, drop in farmers’ income and higher debt prompted farmers to commit suicide.
India’s Water Crisis Is Man-Made
Climate Change Is Real
About 19 percent of respondents surveyed by Gaon Connection said sudden and unexpected weather changes were the biggest challenge to their crops. Millions of farmers across the country have to deal with sudden hailstorms, unseasonal rains, excessive heat and cold, according to the survey.