Sitting in the lush garden of his swanky bungalow, Chandrakant Sanghavi, who runs a Rs 500-crore diamond cutting unit, yells to his gardener not to waste water.

Water scarcity has hit hard Pachadh Dhundi State of Rajanpur district, as Dajal Canal, the only water channel in the area, has dried up.

Panchkula, March 16 * Ward number 28 * Area

Water is life: The impact of water shortage is being felt all over the world, in the industrialised as well as developing countries.

Limited vision and vested interests have politicised the critical issue of water that is now leading to its scarcity and endangering the very existence of human being, says NWPF caretaker Chief Minist

Many residents of East Sholoshohar are to depend on unusable pond water for household work as the Water and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) is unable to supply optimum water for them in the ward.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation has called on the oil-producing countries of the Middle East to invest more of their oil windfalls in developing agriculture in their region, in or

"At the current pace, on each day of the year, 290 habitations are provided with drinking water,' announced the government in the Budget session to showcase the "impressive progress' made under the UPA's flagship Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Mission (RGDWM) meant to provide "safe and sustainable drinking water sources' to villages. What the Government glossed over is the official reality check

For years, residents in Khadki have been facing severe shortage of water. And the situation shows no sign of improving. Civic activists say both the Pune Municipal Corporation and the Khadki Cantonment Board have been passing the buck while doing little to improve water scarcity situation. Compounding the citizens woes, the water being supplied to some inner areas of Khadki is allegedly contaminated. Yuvraj Jain, a resident of Juna bazaar, says people have been affected by jaundice due to contamination of water during the early showers last year. "We get water supply only for 15 minutes daily and then it stops. How are we supposed to store it for the entire day?' says Kulsumbi Maniyar, a resident of Khadki bazaar. The Ram mandir area, Mangalya Society, Gadi Adda, and Depotline are some of the areas affected by water shortage. Also, drinking water is getting mixed with drainage water. According to Santosh Gayakwad, junior engineer from Holkar Water Supply centre, Khadki, "Drinking water gets mixed with polluted water due to unauthorised pipelines drawn underground. This is done at night so that nobody notices it.' When contacted, a KCB official said water supply is not under the board's control. He however said water tankers are ensuring that residents get their daily quota. PMC deputy city engineer Anil Talathi declined to comment on the issue.