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Delhi’s water woes

  • As temperatures soar, Delhi, the capital city of India, grapples to meet its demand for water. Unauthorized slums, like the Vivekanand Camp, are the first to suffer.  Every day is a daily struggle for water. Water tankers don’t meet the per capita requirements of residents. Every day they are forced to chase water tankers.

     

     

    Picture by: Shrey Gupta

  • Residents of Vivekanand Camp, an unauthorised colony in posh Chanakya Puri,  mill around a water tanker from the municipal corporation to fill water for their daily needs. There is a mad rush to get hold of a pipe and fill as many buckets as possible.

     

    Picture by: Shrey Gupta

  • Once the elusive water tanker turns up there is a mad rush to be the first to access it. Men, women, children armed with buckets of various shapes and sizes take part in this water chase.

     

    Picture by: Shrey Gupta

  • The road is lined with people waiting with canisters and old cans of oil to fill water from the water tanker. There is no queue and whoever brings the most number of containers receives the most water. Tomorrow, when the tanker arrives again, it might be someone else’s lucky day.

     

    Picture by: Shrey Gupta

     

  • Men, women and children are affected by this perennial problem. Young children holding smaller buckets accompany their mothers to lend an extra hand in this daily struggle for water.

     

    Picture by: Shrey Gupta

  • Every election campaign promises slum dwellers a regular supply of water. But it continues to remain a distant dream. No government has managed to sort out the issues facing Delhi Jal Board in accessing raw water, distributing it equitably and treating waste water.

     

    Picture by: Shrey Gupta