India records the world's highest per capita incidence of water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, typhoid and hepatitis, in spite of which concern for safe drinking water is still abysmally low even among educated Indians. This alarming indifference was borne out in a survey conducted by market research agency Research International Ltd. based on a study of 3,000 households spread across all major cities in India. The survey found that over 73 per cent of all households in the highest income categories (SEC A & B) drink tap water without boiling it and as many as 55 per cent of the same group drink tap water after filtration through a cloth, but without boiling. Though every school child knows that unboiled tap water contains unseen disease causing germs, and is unsafe to drink, the high level of indifference to boiling water will come as a surprise to many. Comments Dr. S.S. Narvekar, Deputy Director, Directorate of Health Services, Government of Maharashtra." We regularly monitor water quality in all major urban centres in this state. During 1995 - 96, we found that 9,730 out of 159,233 samples of water were contaminated with disease causing organisms, representing a high 6.11 per cent of the total number of samples collected and analysed. This is an alarmingly high level of contamination considering that Maharashtra is one of the more developed states in India and it may be higher in other states. Also during late summer months when there is water scarcity, and during the monsoon season, contamination of drinking water is very high. Hence during these months it is doubly important to ensure drinking water is adequately sanitised." According to the passage, unboiled tap water contains