Hyderabad: What would modern families do without bottled water? Eighteen per cent of households in Telangana state rely on bottled water for drinking. Compared to urban areas, the number of rural households is higher when it comes to dependence on bottled water.
However, the situation of drinking water in Telangana is much better compared to the national average. Once Mission Bhagiratha is completed, the project will ensure availability of piped water to each household in the state.
The Telangana Social Development report states that 36.7 per cent of total households are getting piped water while 17.7 per cent depend on public taps.
Dependence on bottled water for drinking is more in rural areas than in urban areas and this indicates a rural household’s willingness to pay for drinking water. This shows the limited access to clean water or insufficient supply.
The report said, “It warrants deeper analysis to understand public behavior with regard to drinking water.” At district level, there are about five major sources of drinking water: Bottled, piped water to dwelling, piped to yard/plot, public tap, and tube well.
Telangana fared much better than other southern states and India. The access to improved sources was high across rural and urban households, notwithstanding social and religious groups. The report said the district-wise analysis also indicated that a large proportion of households across districts had access to improved sources of drinking water.
Around 90 per cent households have water sources within 0.2 km of the premises, though the situation for rural, SC, ST and OBC households remains below average. In rural areas, 53.4 per cent and in urban areas 88.5 per cent households have drinking water sources within their premises.
In rural areas, 32 per cent and in urban areas 8.3 per cent households have drinking water source at a less than 0.2 km distance. Meanwhile, 8.1 per cent households in rural and 3 per cent in urban areas have drinking water source located between 0.2 and 0.5 km from their premises.
