Poor But Spritied In Karimnagar: Field Notes Of A Civil Servant

by Sumita Dawra

‘If poverty is so painful, why do the poor remain poor? The poor are not lazy, stupid, or corrupt—why, then, is poverty so persistent?’

The communities, though poor, are willing to pay for this service, reflecting the oft held view that the poor are willing to pay for basic services rather than being made to go without them on account of inefficiencies in the public delivery system.

In fact, in the context of water, experts often point out that expenditure of the poor on treatment of water-borne diseases is more than what they spend on water supply.