Consumer behaviour and perception for efficient water use in urban Punjab

Abstract

Water plays extremely important role on the earth s surface. It is so familiar with our daily lives that we often forget its importance. In human beings the water varies from 60 to 65 percent in males and 50 to 60 percent in females. Although water covers two third of earth s surface but most of it is salty and unsuitable for drinking or raising crops. The fresh water comes from two sources, i.e. through precipitation and underground water sources. The underground water resources are not wholly renewable and water stored in deeper layers of earth is only for one time use. The total availability of water remaining almost the same, the increase in population and development is creating the fresh water crisis, particularly in the urban areas where the population is concentrating. It has been estimated that by the year 2030 the population living in urban areas of the state will outstrip the rural population. The state is already facing a water deficit of 1.25 m ham per annum. The deficit is met through over exploitation of underground water reserves; as a result the water table is going down on an average rate of 66 cm per annum. Apart from water availability the creation of additional infrastructure needs heavy financial investments. There were numbers of studies on water demand management on agriculture side but none on domestic water utilization in urban areas of the state. The demand for any commodity is related to consumer behaviour and perception about the commodity. Thus it is high time to study the present water supply system, consumer s awareness about the present water resources, present water usage, quality of water used, perception about affecting economy in water use and possibilities of utilizing the recycled water. The present study was planned to meet the above mentioned objectives. To study the consumer s behaviour and perception regarding domestic water use in urban Punjab, five cities across the state viz. Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Gurdaspur, Bathinda, Faridkot were selected covering different climate