© Michael F. McElroy.
India has 17 percent of the World’s population and just 4 percent of its fresh water. With a population at 1.2 billion people and counting, the cities are bursting at the seams. Water cuts, pollution and a lack of basic services are the reality for millions. These photographs are part of an ongoing project documenting the water Crisis in India.
Above: Saneosh Naitam holds 1 of 8 notebooks that date back from 1998 to present. The notebooks hold the names of 15,000 farmers who have committed suicide in the Vidarbha region. Farmer suicides are directly related to the water crisis. Failed crops, due to lower than average monsoon season, cause the farmers to borrow more money for the next years crop and incur more debt. The farmers see no way out of debt and turn to suicide, out of shame. To see more of McElroy’s work click here.
The people living on the sidewalks and roads in India’s richest city ( the’ illegals’ as the Government refers to them) have no source of sanitation or water and every day becomes a search for water to drink, wash clothes and bathe.
Dehli’s Yumuna river has been heavily polluted with raw sewage and industrial waste turning this once clean river into a bubbling black mess.Fifty-seven million people depend on the Yumuna waters and the river supplies 70 percent of Delhi’s water.
Mumbai’s water is somewhat infamous. It’s not clean, and its supply is inconsistent. For millions living in the city, water is obtained at any means necessary, even if that mean illegally tapping city water pipes.
When you really think about your own problem you could easily see a lot of it is on your shoulder. But as I looked and read this situation I was amazed how small my burden is. These people really need help.