Rapid appraisal of the drinking water management practices among residents of urban field practice area of a tertiary care teaching centre in Northern India

Background - Even after more than 60 years of independence, access to safe water and sanitation facilities remains a formidable challenge in developing countries including India. Objectives - To assess the drinking water management practices among residents of urban field practice area of a tertiary...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: A Singh, S Goel, A A Singh, A K Goel, V K Chhoker, P Chikkara
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer – Medknow Publications 2014-07-01
Series:Journal of Integrated Health Sciences
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Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/2347-6486.239541
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Summary:Background - Even after more than 60 years of independence, access to safe water and sanitation facilities remains a formidable challenge in developing countries including India. Objectives - To assess the drinking water management practices among residents of urban field practice area of a tertiary care teaching centre in northern India. Methods - The present cross sectional survey was conducted among 405 residents of the urban field practice area of a tertiary care teaching centre located in district Farrukhabad of Uttar Pradesh. After filling the questionnaire, the free chlorine in the drinking water of the households was determined by using O-Toluidine test. Results - Majority (85%) of the households were depending on the municipality water supply. 72.1% of the population does not use any method to treat water in their households. 6.9% of the respondents strained the water through the cloth whereas 2.7% of the houses boiled water before consumption. 43.95% of study subjects dipped a glass into the storage vessel using their hands to take water from storage vessel for drinking purpose whereas only 17.78% of the people used a tap to collect water for drinking. The OT test did not yield any positive result in surveyed households. Conclusion - Safe sources alone do not guarantee of providing safe and healthy water supply to the houses, this should be supported by the safe treatment and storage practices of drinking water at household level. Therefore it is need of the hour to launch IEC activities so as to improve the storage and handling practices of drinking water.
ISSN:2347-6486
2347-6494