Himashu Thakkar, a leading water campaigner, said the failure of officials and politicians to provide basic services was best highlighted in the capital New Delhi where the River Yumana had been the country's most polluted for three decades. "The trouble is there's very little happening in government on water. We have significant rainfall, reserves of groundwater, and the option of recycling, but instead most are looking for easy solutions, like building dams and bringing in water from outside," he said.