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	Introduction   Kenya: Maasai walk   Ethiopia: drought walk   Nairobi: slum walk   El Paso: drought   Calcutta: slum walk   Bangladesh: poisoned water		Lining up for water in a Calcutta slum, India In the suburbs of Calcutta people don’t have to walk far to get their water - the problem is the queue when they get to the tap. BBC World Service spent a day with the Tapan Mondal, his family and their neighbours. We discovered the effects severe water shortages have on people who live in Calcutta, the "City of Joy". It is 12.30pm and two million people in Calcutta have been deprived of water for two days already. Engineers are furiously trying to fix a sixteen inch mains water pipe which has been damaged. Now thousands of gallons drinking water is gushing out on to the street. This is not unusual, says one of the onlookers. Access to clean drinking water in Calcutta, a city of over 10 million people, is erratic at best. At worst, poor people can go for days without a steady supply of water. Queuing for water here is part of the daily life. But it is more that just a nuisance - it is affecting the whole economy of the city. Near the Selempool level crossing in the suburbs of Calcutta a small tap serves around five hundred people. The day begins early for the poor. Most people are up and about by 5:00; the early ones are first in line. Fights Buckets and plastic containers are placed in position denoting their place in the queue. However, fights often break out over who was first in line. Tapan Mondal lives with his mother son, daughter and niece near this level crossing. Tapan’s mother looks after his daughter and niece whilst he is away at work. They all take in turns to get the water but no one is likes the job. The walk to the tap is relatively short, only about 100 metres - the problem is the queue at the other end. Tapan’s mother cooks their daily meal on a simple fire outside the house in the street. Their water has to be boiled first to ensure it is safe. The water is supplied by the council but it is only switched on twice, early in the morning, and later in the afternoon for about three hours at a time. Tapan’s family never know when it will be switched on and off or for how long. “It’s very upsetting, you can never plan your day” says Tapan. Up to six hours waiting This water is not only for drinking, it is also used for cleaning and washing, so life revolves around this one tap. Up to six hours a day can be spent just waiting in line. The impact of this simple task of collecting and sterilising water this Calcutta slum is incalculable. The education of the children is affected because they don’t have time to go to school. Relationships suffer within the family, and arguements frequently break out with neighbours over whose turn it is in the water queue or the position of a water vessel. Work hours lost due to being late can only be imagined. Stark choice Tapan has been threatened with the sack for being late to work because of the late arrival of the water supply. If he misses the train in the morning he can be up to an hour late. But if he misses his place in the water queue his family can be without water for a whole day. Tapan has to make a choice; making sure his small child has water or hanging on to his job. If you do not have a job in Calcutta you run a very strong risk of you and your family starving. A stark choice in this the "City of Joy". Listen to the radio series: Water Walks parts 1 and 2 BBC World Service Online visited Tapan Mondal in February 2003

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