Jaipur is on the verge of a severe drinking water crisis, with officials saying the international tourist destination may get potable water supply only once in 48 hours, given the poor monsoon so far. With the level receding at the Bisalpur dam that provides water to the city, supply is likely to be cut off from this prime source by midnight on Friday, affecting 40 lakh residents. As part of a desperate campaign to save water and prevent its misuse, Jaipur Municipal Corporation has banned use of water for park irrigation purposes. An official order said only treated sewerage water by the civic body could be used for such irrigation. In another order, the storing of water supplied by the Public Health and Engineering Department PHED in underground tanks too has been banned......

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has voiced concern about the quality of drinking water supplied by the Delhi Jal Board after testing several water samples.

The issue was raised at a meeting of the MCD Standing Committee. According to statistics provided by the civic body Health Department, out of 15,647 samples lifted for testing till July 1 this year, 1,768 samples, which is 11.29 per cent, were found unfit......

Maharashtra is considering a levy of Re 1 on every unit of packaged drinking water sold in the State. With 800 crore bottles sold annually in the State according to the water supply department estimate, the Government stands to earn Rs 800 crore from this levy every year.

The levy collected could be ploughed into public water works as well as into supply of water to the urban poor, said the Maharashtra Minister for Water Supply and Sanitation Department, Mr Laxmanrao Dhoble......

Water Resources Minister N K Premachandran said that administrative sanction had been granted to various drinking water projects worth Rs 300 crore in the current fiscal.

Replying to the discussion on demand for grants in the Assembly on Tuesday, he said that it was for the first time that such a huge amount was being sanctioned under the state plan......

Rajasthan is trying to reduce its water consumption in agriculture while ensuring productivity. The farm sector consumes as much as 83 per cent of the available water in this arid State and even a five per cent reduction in water use can help mitigate the drinking water problem in thousands of villages, it is pointed out. The initiative has come from the Rajasthan Planning Board.

“The State is facing a severe water crisis and we have to look for best use of the available water. As irrigation claims the bulk of the water consumed in the State, there is ample scope for saving some for drinking purposes,” says Prof. V. S. Vyas, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Board, who recently brought together experts and officials of agriculture and irrigation for rationalisation of water use. Dr. Samra, Director of the Rainfed Agriculture Development Authority, and agriculture expert R. S. Paroda also attended the meeting......