In a small village in Haryana, a mother’s grief has become a stark symbol of a much larger national crisis. “My son wanted to become a wrestler. How does a liver collapse in a healthy child like him?” she asks, mourning the loss of her 13-year-old son, Sharik Khan. He was among at least 22 people who died in Chhainsa village in Palwal district between late January and February this year, many from acute liver failure. The victims ranged in age from children to the elderly, united by a common and preventable cause: contaminated water.
Chhainsa, home to about 6,000 people, reflects the anatomy of a recurring tragedy. The village has long struggled with poor drainage, leaving stagnant monsoon water pooling across its landscape even in dry months. Drinking water pipelines, submerged in open drains, are vulnerable to leaks that allow sewage to seep into the supply. When cracks appear, contamination becomes inevitable. A nearby canal drawing water from the Yamuna river, intended for irrigation, has deteriorated into what residents describe as a foul-smelling sewage channel.
A ground report by Frontline India paints a bleak picture of life in the village. Residents say water is their most urgent crisis, affecting both drinking needs and agriculture. With fields waterlogged and unsafe for cultivation, many farmers have been unable to sow crops. Healthcare access is equally dire. The village’s lone primary health centre, built in 2009 but operational only since 2022, remains largely inaccessible due to poor roads and seasonal flooding. It lacks basic facilities, staff, and services, leaving residents to rely on informal practitioners for treatment.
Following the deaths, authorities collected water samples from households, with a significant number failing quality tests. Bacterial contamination, absence of chlorine, and the presence of coliform organisms were detected, confirming what villagers had long suspected: the water they consumed daily was unsafe. Yet this tragedy is not an isolated incident but part of a pattern unfolding across the country.
From typhoid outbreaks in Gujarat affecting hundreds of children to contaminated tap water in Chhattisgarh sickening entire communities, similar crises have emerged with alarming frequency. In Jharkhand, hundreds of damaged pipelines have been identified as potential entry points for sewage into drinking water. Even cities celebrated for cleanliness have not been spared. In Indore, a major contamination event in late 2025 led to over 20 deaths and hospitalised around 200 people. In just a two-month span between December 2025 and January 2026, at least 11 such incidents were reported nationwide.
The underlying cause in most cases is the same: ageing, poorly maintained, or improperly designed pipeline systems that run dangerously close to sewer lines. When leaks occur or water pressure drops, sewage infiltrates drinking water supplies. These failures expose a fundamental flaw in how India manages its water infrastructure.
Despite having only 4 per cent of the world’s groundwater resources while supporting nearly 17 per cent of its population, experts argue that India’s crisis is not primarily one of scarcity. Instead, it is a failure of governance, planning, and design. Rapid urbanisation has overwhelmed outdated water management systems, while the destruction and neglect of natural water bodies have depleted groundwater reserves that once acted as buffers.
Government spending patterns further illustrate misplaced priorities. Under major urban development programmes, the bulk of funding has been directed towards expanding water supply infrastructure, with far less investment in sewerage systems or the restoration of lakes and ponds. This imbalance undermines long-term sustainability, as groundwater recharge and ecological resilience receive minimal attention.
An audit of the Delhi Jal Board by the Comptroller and Auditor General highlights systemic inefficiencies. Water losses during transmission have increased, supply remains uneven across regions, and massive volumes of water go unaccounted for, resulting in significant financial losses. The absence of proper monitoring systems, such as flow meters, means authorities lack accurate data on how much water is being treated or delivered. Water quality testing has also fallen short, raising concerns about public health risks in the capital itself.
Experts point to deeper structural issues. Rapid urban expansion has blurred the boundaries between rural and urban water demands, placing unprecedented pressure on groundwater. Lakes and ponds, once integral to local ecosystems, have been encroached upon or polluted, reducing their ability to recharge aquifers. Even where policies such as mandatory rainwater harvesting exist, implementation gaps limit their effectiveness.
Compounding these challenges is a lack of coordination and data sharing among government agencies. In many cities, officials do not have a clear understanding of pipeline networks due to outdated records and reliance on external consultants who retain critical technical information. This disconnect hampers maintenance efforts and delays responses to emerging problems.
Yet solutions are neither unknown nor unattainable. Experts emphasise the need to shift from a linear, supply-driven approach to a circular model that integrates water conservation, reuse, and community participation. This concept, often described as water-sensitive design, recognises water as part of an ecological system rather than merely an infrastructure service.
Historically, Indian communities managed water resources collectively, using local knowledge to sustain agriculture and livelihoods. Over time, however, water governance became centralised and technocratic, dominated by engineers and bureaucracies focused on pipelines, pumps, and distribution. This shift has sidelined ecological considerations and community engagement.
Today, most urban water systems operate as isolated entities, with limited interdisciplinary input. Specialists such as hydrologists, ecologists, and social scientists are rarely involved in planning, leading to solutions that address immediate supply needs but ignore long-term sustainability. Even opportunities for reuse, such as using treated wastewater for irrigation of urban green spaces, remain largely untapped.
The consequences of this approach are visible in cities like Chennai, where excessive concretisation prevents rainwater from seeping into the ground, exacerbating water shortages despite adequate rainfall. Similarly, Delhi relies heavily on external water sources while neglecting its own groundwater recharge potential. When crises occur, authorities resort to emergency measures such as deploying water tankers, rather than addressing root causes.
Frontline India underscores that meaningful reform requires more than infrastructure upgrades. It demands a fundamental rethinking of governance, prioritising transparency, coordination, and community involvement. Citizens must be treated not merely as consumers of water but as active participants in its management.
