My maid was talking to me, and telling me about the water situation in her home. “We pay Rs. 5 per pot or Rs. 15 for a ‘can’ of water (referring to the large container of water that we often invert into our dispensers). We get 3 per week,” she said. Then she laughed and said, “For the same can, you flat people pay Rs. 50!”
Water is now a commercial commodity everywhere, and the rates we pay seem to vary widely according to our economic status. The sad part is that one never knows whether this water is indeed filtered or just tap water that’s packaged and sold. I find, instead of the old tubewells or even tankers, an RO plant in many small semi-rural and rural areas. A group quickly seems to take charge of this. “Charge” being the operative word, the supply of water has to be paid for by the local residents.
I wonder what the scenario will be like, 50 years hence…