Water quality decline in peri-urban areas: a case study of Myorpur block, Uttar Pradesh, India

This article examines the deterioration of water quality in the peri-urban areas of Sonbhadra district, which is an adjacent district to Varanasi, a major urban centre. The research employed a Political Ecology framework to explain the inequitable distribution of costs and burdens associated with industrial pollution, which is responsible for the degradation of water quality. The stated objective was achieved through a physiochemical analysis of groundwater samples gathered from different sites within the Myorpur block. A survey in 300 households across five distinct settlements in this block was conducted to measure the socio-economic implications of the contaminated drinking water. The physiochemical analysis of groundwater samples shows that most of the samples exceed the maximum permissible level for physiochemical elements suggested by WHO 2011 and BIS 2012 for drinking water. Furthermore, findings from the household surveys indicate that socio-economic status often influence access to safe drinking water, with socially and economically marginalized households facing more significant challenges in obtaining clean and safe drinking water. Moreover, these households are also less equipped to cope with the repercussions of consuming contaminated water. Hence, though water scarcity is a natural phenomenon, it is exacerbated by various socio-economic and political-administrative factors.