Coping With Water Shortages: A Case Study of Akola City - Tapa blanda

"Of a population of roughly 6.1 billion, more than 1 billion lack access to potable water. The World Health Organization says that at any time, up to half of humanity has one of the six main diseases -- diarrhoea,schistosomiasis, or trachoma, or infestation with ascaris, guinea worm, or hookworm -- associated with poor drinking water and inadequate sanitation. About 5 million people die each year from poor drinking water, poor sanitation, or a dirty home environment -- often resulting from water shortage." (Tenenbaum, 1998) This above mentioned quote gives us the intensity of the problems due to water shortages faced by people around the world. But the impacts caused by water shortages cannot be limited only to the health impacts. The contour is much bigger and involves economic and social impacts and costs as well. The issues of water shortages cannot be solved solely by the policy makers or planners on their own. As water shortages are prevailing in many parts of world and people are tackling the situation, so these issues of water shortages can be addressed best by the people who are confronting the problems. Coping Strategies are very potent in policy and planning parlance.

Dr. Abhay Junaghare has graduated from School of Habitat Studies in M.Sc. Habitat Policy and Practice, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. He is currently working with All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG), Mumbai and a member of Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), Geneva, Switzerland.