The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB,Dhaka

Water is an essential requirement for human and ecosystems survival. In recent years water has steadily gravitated toward the top of the national agendas. In view of the increasing importance of water in the future development scenarios in Asia and Pacific regions Asian Development Bank (ADB) has commissioned the Asian Water Development Outlook (AWDO). It is with this in mind Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) is developing a media project to assist and encourage the media in the Asia-Pacific region to report on issues related to water and sanitation on a more engaging and interesting manner. The following is one of the flagship reports prepared by a team of water experts.

Water scarcity or lack of management?

A morning stroll on a rainy Kolkata Kalinga Seneviratne clicks his camera on a rainy day in Kolkata Before flying back to Singapore on a Sunday evening in late September 2007, I had planned to take a stroll along the Hoogly River, perhaps cross the famous Howrah Bridge on foot and see some of the other sights of West Bengal’s state capital.

Having woken up early morning and looking out of my hotel window in central Kolkatta, I realized my plans were coming unstuck. It was pouring outside and I was certain that there wasn’t going to be much life on the banks of the mighty Hoogly river.

However, I decided to take my umbrella venture out for a morning walk around the area … never mind the rains. But, this is what I saw right outside my hotel gates. I had to navigate the street holding my sandals in one hand and the trousers folded up to my knees.

The shacks lining this street were filled with families, men, women and children, some as young as a year or two, the previous night. They add to the statistics of over a million people living on the streets of this teeming Indian city. I was wondering where they were now … not in any of the hotels lining this street for sure.

When I was able to click this picture (below) I realized that they were still sleeping inside, these destitute people seem to find ingenious ways to survive and shelter from the perils of mother nature.

I decided it is better to go back to the hotel for a hearty breakfast. By the time I finished it the rains have seized and I took to the streets again when the floods have subsided and life was slowly returning to the streets. While there was much water which was not needed or welcomed in the streets, yet, there seem to be a scarcity of water at the same time …. I mean clean water to drink and bathe.

Well it didn’t take the water vendors much time to get into business. The street taps courtesy of the local authorities provides them their source of income and the city’s poor middle classes their customers.

There is a kind of early morning rush hour traffic here. It is not oil consuming, air polluting cars and trickshaws, but, those who need to fill up their bottles and other water carriers. Some do not look like filling up for their own use. Perhaps, not all residents here have tap water in their homes. This is where private enterprise takes over.

Yet, there are others who don’t seem to be sure how to clean up these bottles …. or are they waiting to fill them up for drinking supplies? I didn’t know Bengali to find out.

Yet, for some, a bucket of water is all that is needed to have their morning bath … or may be that is all they could afford. Well its time for a cuppa now .