The capital of the American state of Mississippi where citizens are deprived of clean drinking water

 

Last week, the US military sent more than 1 million bottles of water to Jackson, the capital of the state of Mississippi, where thousands of people lack clean drinking water.

According to various estimates, nearly two lakh people are affected by severe water shortage. The problem started about five weeks ago when a water treatment plant was blocked by flooded rails.

Officials say that the restoration work of the plant is going on.

The affected population of the city is demanding a solution to the water problem in view of the intense heat wave. The availability of water for bathing, toileting, and daily activities is also a major problem in the city.

"Life without water is terrible," Shirley Barneys, who was queuing for bottled water on Friday, told.

Daily life is very difficult without it. Boiling water, washing mouth, bathing, cooking. It seems like we are living in caves.

He further said 'I never thought that I would face this situation. But now we are going through this.

Volunteers like Dappy Upchurch have been working with the National Guard in Jackson to deliver water bottles to citizens. His daughter, who is a native, could not attend the class for the entire week. He has now offered to teach his course online.

"Currently, these people cannot gather for class because there is no water for cooking or for the bathroom," she says. Apart from breakfast and lunch at school, most people have nothing to eat.

Lt. Roman Ramirez of the Mississippi National Guard told the BBC that by Friday afternoon, 44 soldiers in the squad had distributed 80,000 water bottles.

Citizens have become very emotional. Our job is to go there and help them and provide as much water as possible.

Ryan Bell, a resident of Jackson, lives near the field where bottled water is being distributed. "Everyone is going through a crisis," he says. Everyone in the city of Jackson. We are all in this together.'

Even before the flood, most people in the city, where the majority of the population is black, had no other source of water.

Beal, who is associated with a local construction company, says, “Being an old city, the infrastructure has also been affected. We only ask for help and support.

President Joe Biden has imposed a state of emergency in the southern city due to the crisis.

Many citizens do not use toilets due to the non-availability of water and instead have to use temporary toilets set up across the city. Long queues form outside these places at 32 degrees Celsius temperature.

Jackson's mayor says some progress has been made in repairing the water treatment plant, but there is no clear timetable for when the problem will be resolved.

Water has been restored to some homes and businesses near the plant. But the water pressure away from the plant is negligible.

But the bigger problem is the warning of the authorities that due to the increase in water pressure, pipes across the city may burst.

Environmental racism

"We have an old water treatment system that nobody thought about for so many years," says Edmond Miriam, a professor of urban planning and environmental studies at Jackson State University.

He believes that Jackson's water infrastructure has gone unnoticed and underfunded because of racial bias.

Environmental experts and activists say the same is happening in Flint, Michigan, and other cities like Jackson. Non-cooperation in the water supply is directly related to generational bias and discrimination based on race.

According to Ariel King, a lawyer and environmental advocate, "the situation has worsened over the decades."

"The history of discrimination and the red lines in the country have contributed to the environmental injustice we are seeing now."

According to him, the practice of 'redlining' began in the 1940s when the government stopped paying loans to black people because it was considered 'too risky.

King says the practice continued for 40 years and targeted black and low-income homes, often located near landfills, oil refineries, and sewage treatment plants.

On the banks of the Mississippi River, this once lush area is now the backbone of industrial production, with more than 150 oil refineries.

Due to pollution, the country's black population has been the worst affected by cancer for decades.

King says it's a result of environmental racism, with very little investment in low-income neighborhoods in Jackson.

You can say that there could be many factors behind the flood. But if it was not for this red line, these people would not have been forced to live in flood-affected areas.

Source: BBC