Seven police personnel, including the Station House Officer of New Ashok Nagar, were injured after residents of colonies in Kondli in East Delhi staged a violent protest against the water scarcity in their locality on Tuesday morning.
The protesters, mostly residents of Rajbir Colony and Gharoli, blocked the road connecting Kondli and Kalyanpuri at about 8.15 am. They soon started pelting the police as well as passing vehicles with stones.
“Initially, there were about 150 protesters, but once they became violent, others joined in, leading to a riot-like situation,” a senior cops said. Though additional forces were called in from nearby, the protesters refused to budge and kept throwing stones at the police. “After some of our men were injured, we had to resort to a lathi-charge,” a police officer said.
SHO Shah Noor Khan, Sub-Inspector Narender, Hawaldars Vijay Nath and Man Chand as well as constables Mahender and Ranbir were injured in the melee. Seven vehicles, including two police bikes and a Gypsy, were destroyed by the protesters.
However, the locals claimed they were protesting peacefully, and it was the police who started the violence. “We were sitting on a dharna demanding water as there has been no supply for around ten days. But the police started cane-charging us,” said Vinod Gautam, a local resident.
After the police picked up local residents for the protests, locals complained many of those detained were innocent. “They took away my sons saying they had assaulted policemen, but they were not at fault,” said one Krishna Devi. “They have detained innocent people instead of catching the culprits,” said Munni Khatoon.
However, Ranjit Singh, a resident of B-block, said the protests seemed politically motivated. “The water problem has been there for the past one-and-a-half years, but this protest has been arranged by politicians,” he said.
Additional Commissioner of Police (East) K C Dwivedi said 11 people have been arrested on charges of rioting and attempt to murder while four others were let off after questioning.
Dwivedi said no innocent people have been detained, adding that all those responsible will be behind bars soon.
DJB: borewell by tomorrow
A DJB spokesperson said Rajbir Colony is unauthorised but was still getting water from the underground reservoir at Kondli. Since the colony is at the tail end of the water distribution system, supply used to be supplemented through a borewell. However, the borewell went dry in June. A new borewell was dug and operationalised on July 1. But, despite flushing, the water was found to be muddy and consequently supply from it was stopped on July 3, leading to a shortage in area. The work of deepening the borewell will be over by July 8, said the spokesperson, adding that arrangements like water tankers have been made to supply water in the area till then.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Activists say dam it! to CM for Renuka barrage (Hindustan Times 05 July 2010)
Civil society activists have written to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit opposing what they call an ‘unnecessary’ step for solving Delhi's water woes — the Renuka dam in Himachal Pradesh Giri river, a tributary of Yamuna.
Drawing Dikshit's attention to a number of issues — Delhi’s avoidable distribution losses, non-essential water guzzling activities, lack of rainwater harvesting, groundwater use and recharge, wastewater treatment and issues related to environmental & social costs/destruction due to the dam in Himachal Pradesh — the activists have urged her to “review Delhi government's position”.
More than 30 activists including Vandana Shiva, Manoj Mishra, Himanshu Thakkar, Rajendra Singh, Amita Baviskar and Ramaswamy R Iyer (former secretary, Ministry of Water Resources) to name a few, have endorsed the letter dated June 30.
Magsaysay award winner Rajendra Singh, one of the signatories, told HT, “Tomorrow the entire western Uttar Pradesh would be up in arms as they would be deprived of their share of Yamuna.”
Dikshit claimed she had not received the letter but nevertheless said she would be “willing to meet the activists and listen to their viewpoint.”
She however asserted, “Renuka dam was not meant only for Delhi, many other states too would benefit.”
Dikshit also said with more and more people coming daily to the national capital, “it is not for immediate use. The dam is being constructed with the future in mind.”
Dikshit also said she did not think that Rajasthan (a riparian state of Yamuna basin) not signing the original 1994 agreement was a problem. “For some reasons, they do not want to contribute."
But Himanshu Thakkar of South Asia Network on Dams, River & People (SANDRP), another signatory of the letter, points out, the Ministry of Law & Justice had in 2008 said the 1994 agreement is not legally valid and enforceable as Rajastan had not signed.
“Moreover, in early 2010, Haryana, Rajasthan and UP all asserted the right for sharing the benefits. (of Renuka dam). This way Delhi will hardly get any water.”
Drawing Dikshit's attention to a number of issues — Delhi’s avoidable distribution losses, non-essential water guzzling activities, lack of rainwater harvesting, groundwater use and recharge, wastewater treatment and issues related to environmental & social costs/destruction due to the dam in Himachal Pradesh — the activists have urged her to “review Delhi government's position”.
More than 30 activists including Vandana Shiva, Manoj Mishra, Himanshu Thakkar, Rajendra Singh, Amita Baviskar and Ramaswamy R Iyer (former secretary, Ministry of Water Resources) to name a few, have endorsed the letter dated June 30.
Magsaysay award winner Rajendra Singh, one of the signatories, told HT, “Tomorrow the entire western Uttar Pradesh would be up in arms as they would be deprived of their share of Yamuna.”
Dikshit claimed she had not received the letter but nevertheless said she would be “willing to meet the activists and listen to their viewpoint.”
She however asserted, “Renuka dam was not meant only for Delhi, many other states too would benefit.”
Dikshit also said with more and more people coming daily to the national capital, “it is not for immediate use. The dam is being constructed with the future in mind.”
Dikshit also said she did not think that Rajasthan (a riparian state of Yamuna basin) not signing the original 1994 agreement was a problem. “For some reasons, they do not want to contribute."
But Himanshu Thakkar of South Asia Network on Dams, River & People (SANDRP), another signatory of the letter, points out, the Ministry of Law & Justice had in 2008 said the 1994 agreement is not legally valid and enforceable as Rajastan had not signed.
“Moreover, in early 2010, Haryana, Rajasthan and UP all asserted the right for sharing the benefits. (of Renuka dam). This way Delhi will hardly get any water.”
Halt power project on Assam, Arunachal border: Experts (Hindu 03 July 2010)
Guwahati: The Expert Group constituted to study the downstream impact of the ongoing 2,000-MW Subonsiri Lower hydro-electric power project of the National Hydro-electric Power Corporation (NHPC) at Gerukamukh on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border has recommended that the mega dam not be built at the present site.
From the geological, tectonic and seismological points of view, the Expert Group has suggested in its report not to consider the Himalayan foothills for any mega hydro-power project.
The All Assam Students' Union (AASU), which distributed copies of the over 400-page report to journalists here, asked the Centre, the Assam Government and the NHPC to immediately halt ongoing construction of the project.
“The present investigations carried out to examine the downstream impact of the project reveal gross inadequacy in the relevant facts relating to construction of the dam at the present site by the concerned authorities. The selected site for the mega dam of the present dimension was not appropriate in such a geologically and seismologically sensitive location. The seismic design parameter is not properly chosen for the project…. Therefore, it is recommended not to construct the mega dam in the present site,” stated the Expert Group report.
It also recommended redesigning of the project by sufficiently reducing the dam height and production capacity.
The proposed height of the dam is 116 metres.
The eight-member Expert Group comprised two experts from IIT Guwahati, four from Gauhati University and two from Dibrugarh University. The decision to constitute the expert group was jointly taken by the Union Ministry of Power, AASU, the Assam Government and the NHPC following a vigorous movement by AASU and several other organisations demanding a halt to the dam.
The Expert Group is of the view that even after redesigning the dam, its operation will have many environmental and socio-economic problems in the downstream. To minimise these, the Expert Group has made 31 recommendations.
From the geological, tectonic and seismological points of view, the Expert Group has suggested in its report not to consider the Himalayan foothills for any mega hydro-power project.
The All Assam Students' Union (AASU), which distributed copies of the over 400-page report to journalists here, asked the Centre, the Assam Government and the NHPC to immediately halt ongoing construction of the project.
“The present investigations carried out to examine the downstream impact of the project reveal gross inadequacy in the relevant facts relating to construction of the dam at the present site by the concerned authorities. The selected site for the mega dam of the present dimension was not appropriate in such a geologically and seismologically sensitive location. The seismic design parameter is not properly chosen for the project…. Therefore, it is recommended not to construct the mega dam in the present site,” stated the Expert Group report.
It also recommended redesigning of the project by sufficiently reducing the dam height and production capacity.
The proposed height of the dam is 116 metres.
The eight-member Expert Group comprised two experts from IIT Guwahati, four from Gauhati University and two from Dibrugarh University. The decision to constitute the expert group was jointly taken by the Union Ministry of Power, AASU, the Assam Government and the NHPC following a vigorous movement by AASU and several other organisations demanding a halt to the dam.
The Expert Group is of the view that even after redesigning the dam, its operation will have many environmental and socio-economic problems in the downstream. To minimise these, the Expert Group has made 31 recommendations.
Less water for farming, more for drinking (Hindu 03 July 2010)
JAIPUR: Rajasthan is trying to reduce its water consumption in agriculture while ensuring productivity. The farm sector consumes as much as 83 per cent of the available water in this arid State and even a five per cent reduction in water use can help mitigate the drinking water problem in thousands of villages, it is pointed out. The initiative has come from the Rajasthan Planning Board.
“The State is facing a severe water crisis and we have to look for best use of the available water. As irrigation claims the bulk of the water consumed in the State, there is ample scope for saving some for drinking purposes,” says Prof. V. S. Vyas, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Board, who recently brought together experts and officials of agriculture and irrigation for rationalisation of water use. Dr. Samra, Director of the Rainfed Agriculture Development Authority, and agriculture expert R. S. Paroda also attended the meeting.
“The idea is to increase the productivity of water in agriculture,” said Prof. Vyas, who was recently nominated by the Reserve Bank of India as chairman of the advisory committee on flow of credits to agriculture. “There will be short-term and medium-term steps prior to the onset of the monsoon in the State followed by long-term measures,” he said.
“The immediate steps would include large-scale promotion of micro irrigation (drip and sprinkler) techniques besides trying out conservation farming with furrow irrigation, SIR method of rice production and plastic mulching. We want to introduce incentives as well by offering priority farm power connections only to those who agree to adopt micro irrigation,” Prof. Vyas said. Target areas in reduction of water use would be the Indira Gandhi Canal Project area and the Chambal Project area.
“The State has to discontinue with flood irrigation. A project for promotion of drip and sprinkler irrigation methods could be prepared and submitted to international funding agencies,” he suggested. The experts feel that introduction of hybrid and water efficient seeds of major crops for Rajasthan -- maize, millet, cotton and arhar -- could also make a big difference.
As has been tried out in Punjab, the attempt would be to make farmers utilise the maximum rainwater available. For this they would have to be informed in advance about the time needed for each crop/seed variety and the possible weather conditions. Decisions on release of water in the canal area as well as the dates for purchase of the produce under support price would be made keeping in mind the time-span needed for this kind of cropping.
“Those who sow the seeds early before the rains and then make use of the ground water to reach the market early for better prices will be discouraged,” Prof.Vyas said.
He said future planning could include enactment of legislation on groundwater use, diversification of crops, large-scale plantation of trees and linking of rivers in neighbouring States. “I am not talking about the national river grid programme. If rivers flowing in M.P. and Rajasthan are linked it is going to benefit both States,” he said.
“The State is facing a severe water crisis and we have to look for best use of the available water. As irrigation claims the bulk of the water consumed in the State, there is ample scope for saving some for drinking purposes,” says Prof. V. S. Vyas, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Board, who recently brought together experts and officials of agriculture and irrigation for rationalisation of water use. Dr. Samra, Director of the Rainfed Agriculture Development Authority, and agriculture expert R. S. Paroda also attended the meeting.
“The idea is to increase the productivity of water in agriculture,” said Prof. Vyas, who was recently nominated by the Reserve Bank of India as chairman of the advisory committee on flow of credits to agriculture. “There will be short-term and medium-term steps prior to the onset of the monsoon in the State followed by long-term measures,” he said.
“The immediate steps would include large-scale promotion of micro irrigation (drip and sprinkler) techniques besides trying out conservation farming with furrow irrigation, SIR method of rice production and plastic mulching. We want to introduce incentives as well by offering priority farm power connections only to those who agree to adopt micro irrigation,” Prof. Vyas said. Target areas in reduction of water use would be the Indira Gandhi Canal Project area and the Chambal Project area.
“The State has to discontinue with flood irrigation. A project for promotion of drip and sprinkler irrigation methods could be prepared and submitted to international funding agencies,” he suggested. The experts feel that introduction of hybrid and water efficient seeds of major crops for Rajasthan -- maize, millet, cotton and arhar -- could also make a big difference.
As has been tried out in Punjab, the attempt would be to make farmers utilise the maximum rainwater available. For this they would have to be informed in advance about the time needed for each crop/seed variety and the possible weather conditions. Decisions on release of water in the canal area as well as the dates for purchase of the produce under support price would be made keeping in mind the time-span needed for this kind of cropping.
“Those who sow the seeds early before the rains and then make use of the ground water to reach the market early for better prices will be discouraged,” Prof.Vyas said.
He said future planning could include enactment of legislation on groundwater use, diversification of crops, large-scale plantation of trees and linking of rivers in neighbouring States. “I am not talking about the national river grid programme. If rivers flowing in M.P. and Rajasthan are linked it is going to benefit both States,” he said.
Consultation on climate change impact on Indus Basin (Hindu 03.July 2010)
An international expert consultation on climate change impact on Cryosphere of the Indus Basin and its implications on future water scenario has begun here at headquarter of International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Nepali capital Kathmandu on Friday. An expert consultation organized by ICIMOD has brought together international as well as regional researchers from different disciplines and geographic region. Workshop will discuss over the establishment of an “Indus River Basin Initiative” to coordinate collaboration between different institutions and organisations.
The Indus River Basin will collect and analyse recent and ongoing research interventions and approaches. It will also provide platform for sharing knowledge gained from this analysis as well as for sharing current state-of-the-art approaches and interventions planned for future work on climate change and water resource management in the Indus River Basin, according to ICIMOD. During the workshop, presentations and discussions will focus on study design and methodologies used in field work, modelling, and scenario analysis. The Indus River Basin is one of the most sensitive basins to impacts of climate change on water supplies and loss of livelihoods. Runoff is generated predominantly by melting snow and ice, and a large number of economic activities and human lives in the basin.
The Indus Basin covers an area of about 1,140,000 sq. km. A large part of the upper basin lies within the Hindu Kush, Karakorum,and Himalayan mountains. Afghanistan, China, India and Pakistan share the basin territory, according to ICIMOD.
The Indus River Basin will collect and analyse recent and ongoing research interventions and approaches. It will also provide platform for sharing knowledge gained from this analysis as well as for sharing current state-of-the-art approaches and interventions planned for future work on climate change and water resource management in the Indus River Basin, according to ICIMOD. During the workshop, presentations and discussions will focus on study design and methodologies used in field work, modelling, and scenario analysis. The Indus River Basin is one of the most sensitive basins to impacts of climate change on water supplies and loss of livelihoods. Runoff is generated predominantly by melting snow and ice, and a large number of economic activities and human lives in the basin.
The Indus Basin covers an area of about 1,140,000 sq. km. A large part of the upper basin lies within the Hindu Kush, Karakorum,and Himalayan mountains. Afghanistan, China, India and Pakistan share the basin territory, according to ICIMOD.
Consultation on climate change impact on Indus Basin (Hindu 03.July 2010)
An international expert consultation on climate change impact on Cryosphere of the Indus Basin and its implications on future water scenario has begun here at headquarter of International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Nepali capital Kathmandu on Friday. An expert consultation organized by ICIMOD has brought together international as well as regional researchers from different disciplines and geographic region. Workshop will discuss over the establishment of an “Indus River Basin Initiative” to coordinate collaboration between different institutions and organisations.
The Indus River Basin will collect and analyse recent and ongoing research interventions and approaches. It will also provide platform for sharing knowledge gained from this analysis as well as for sharing current state-of-the-art approaches and interventions planned for future work on climate change and water resource management in the Indus River Basin, according to ICIMOD. During the workshop, presentations and discussions will focus on study design and methodologies used in field work, modelling, and scenario analysis. The Indus River Basin is one of the most sensitive basins to impacts of climate change on water supplies and loss of livelihoods. Runoff is generated predominantly by melting snow and ice, and a large number of economic activities and human lives in the basin.
The Indus Basin covers an area of about 1,140,000 sq. km. A large part of the upper basin lies within the Hindu Kush, Karakorum,and Himalayan mountains. Afghanistan, China, India and Pakistan share the basin territory, according to ICIMOD.
The Indus River Basin will collect and analyse recent and ongoing research interventions and approaches. It will also provide platform for sharing knowledge gained from this analysis as well as for sharing current state-of-the-art approaches and interventions planned for future work on climate change and water resource management in the Indus River Basin, according to ICIMOD. During the workshop, presentations and discussions will focus on study design and methodologies used in field work, modelling, and scenario analysis. The Indus River Basin is one of the most sensitive basins to impacts of climate change on water supplies and loss of livelihoods. Runoff is generated predominantly by melting snow and ice, and a large number of economic activities and human lives in the basin.
The Indus Basin covers an area of about 1,140,000 sq. km. A large part of the upper basin lies within the Hindu Kush, Karakorum,and Himalayan mountains. Afghanistan, China, India and Pakistan share the basin territory, according to ICIMOD.
Here lived the Yamuna. R.I.P.(Hindustan Times 23 June 2010)
Baghpat (Uttar Pradesh) Anand Sharma would begin his day with a dip in the Yamuna, continuing a centuries-old Hindu tradition.
But for the past seven months, Sharma (62), a devout Brahmin and resident of Baghpat town, around 40 km northeast of Delhi, has stopped going to the river. Because, for a 100-km stretch between Delhi and Saharanpur district in western Uttar Pradesh, the Yamuna has disappeared. Only miles and miles of sand remain.
The once mighty Yamuna has been effectively reduced to a seasonal river for the past three years.
Instead of boats, one sees trucks and jeeps plying on the dead stretch of the river, with commuters using the sandy terrain as a shortcut to Haryana.
Residents here blame Haryana and Delhi for the waterless river. According to an agreement between UP and the two states, Haryana and Delhi draw water from the Yamuna from the Hathinikund barrage in Saharanpur district.
“The Yamuna has turned into an open desert in our area because of unlawful overdrawing of water by the two states,” said Swami Ramswaroop Brahmchari, who is spearheading a campaign to resurrect the river in Baghpat.
On Sunday, the district administration stationed a water tanker on the riverbank on the day of the Ganga Dussehra to provide pilgrims water for the holy bath.
“To meet the demand for water, engineers are exploiting the Yamuna,” said Ravi Chopra, member of the Ganga River Basin Authority, which is chaired by the Prime Minister. “For them water is only a substance, not a live ecosystem.”
Chopra said engineers manning dams should realise that rivers need at least 70 cent of free-flowing water to preserve their ecosystem.
Baghpat MLA Nawab Kokab Hamid admitted he had failed in his efforts to protect the river. “My efforts in the (UP) Assembly and with concerned officials to save the river got little response,” he said.
For Sharma, who now bathes at home, the drying of the river he once worshiped is a personal tragedy. “The death of the Yamuna here is like a disaster in my life,” he said in a choking voice.
But for the past seven months, Sharma (62), a devout Brahmin and resident of Baghpat town, around 40 km northeast of Delhi, has stopped going to the river. Because, for a 100-km stretch between Delhi and Saharanpur district in western Uttar Pradesh, the Yamuna has disappeared. Only miles and miles of sand remain.
The once mighty Yamuna has been effectively reduced to a seasonal river for the past three years.
Instead of boats, one sees trucks and jeeps plying on the dead stretch of the river, with commuters using the sandy terrain as a shortcut to Haryana.
Residents here blame Haryana and Delhi for the waterless river. According to an agreement between UP and the two states, Haryana and Delhi draw water from the Yamuna from the Hathinikund barrage in Saharanpur district.
“The Yamuna has turned into an open desert in our area because of unlawful overdrawing of water by the two states,” said Swami Ramswaroop Brahmchari, who is spearheading a campaign to resurrect the river in Baghpat.
On Sunday, the district administration stationed a water tanker on the riverbank on the day of the Ganga Dussehra to provide pilgrims water for the holy bath.
“To meet the demand for water, engineers are exploiting the Yamuna,” said Ravi Chopra, member of the Ganga River Basin Authority, which is chaired by the Prime Minister. “For them water is only a substance, not a live ecosystem.”
Chopra said engineers manning dams should realise that rivers need at least 70 cent of free-flowing water to preserve their ecosystem.
Baghpat MLA Nawab Kokab Hamid admitted he had failed in his efforts to protect the river. “My efforts in the (UP) Assembly and with concerned officials to save the river got little response,” he said.
For Sharma, who now bathes at home, the drying of the river he once worshiped is a personal tragedy. “The death of the Yamuna here is like a disaster in my life,” he said in a choking voice.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
हरियाणा ने मूनक के लिए मांगे 160 करोड़ और (Dainik Jagran- 15 June 2010)
नई दिल्ली, राज्य ब्यूरो: करनाल के मूनक में पश्चिमी यमुना नहर से दिल्ली के हैदरपुर के बीच निर्माणाधीन 102 किलोमीटर सीएलसी (कैरियर लाइन चैनल) के लिए हरियाणा ने दिल्ली सरकार से 160 करोड़ रुपये और मांगे हैं। हरियाणा की इस मांग का दिल्ली जल बोर्ड अध्ययन कर रहा है। यह परियोजना जून में पूरी हो जानी थी, लेकिन अभी तक तीसरे दौर का काम चल रहा है। जल बोर्ड का दावा है कि 98 फीसदी काम पूरा हो चुका है। 102 किलोमीटर लंबी नहर के निर्माण के लिए कुल 314 करोड़ रुपये का प्रोजेक्ट था। लेकिन कुछ दिन बाद हरियाणा ने प्रोजेक्ट रिवाइज किया और इसकी लागत 380 करोड़ तक पहुंचने की बात रखी। इसके बाद दिल्ली जल बोर्ड ने हरियाणा को 345 करोड़ रुपये दे दिए थे। अब हरियाणा प्रोजेक्ट के लिए दोबारा 160 करोड़ रुपये की मांग कर रहा है। इस हिसाब से नहर की कुल लागत 505 करोड़ रुपये हो जाएगी। दिल्ली ने अभी पैसा नहीं दिया है, वह अपने स्तर पर तकनीकी परीक्षण करवा रहा है कि हरियाणा द्वारा मांगे जा रहे धन की जरूरत कहां पडे़गी। दिल्ली जल बोर्ड के सदस्य (जलापूर्ति) आरके गर्ग ने बताया कि फिलहाल अध्ययन किया जा रहा है। करनाल से मूनक में पश्चिमी यमुना नहर से दिल्ली के हैदरपुर के बीच 102 किलोमीटर सीएलसी (कैरियर लाइन चैनल) बनाया गया है। हैदरपुर से वजीराबाद (जल शोधन संयंत्र) के बीच लंबी स्टील पाइपलाइन बिछाई जा रही है। 723 क्यूसेक जल क्षमता वाली इस नहर के बन जाने से करीब 80 एमजीडी पानी बर्बाद होने से बच जाएगा
The colour of water (The Colour of water 29 April 2010)
Two years of drought has started to take its toll on the people of Vidarbha, with a failed crop leaving them with no income to tide over the crisis.
P. SAINATH Parched land:Across rural Amravati, Akola, Washim and Yavatmal, almost every human being you see in the morning is collecting or searching for water. A scene in Akola.
He's a butcher out of business. “I want to shift to a town like Panderkauda,” says Sarfaraz Qureshi in Yavatmal district. “I'm unable to sell any meat in the villages I work in.” Qureshi is a small operator who carries as much meat as he can load on to his motorcycle to poor tribal villages on the forest edge. And there he sells at very low prices. “Yet my business has collapsed,” he says. But why? Have people in those villages stopped consuming meat? Are they now unable to afford even his prices?
“These past months, they're eating more meat than ever before,” says Qureshi. “Only, it's free. The forests are stone dry and the drought has seen many wild animals coming out these past months to the fields and farms in search of water — only to be trapped and eaten. So how can I sell any meat? I've made many trips and sold nothing.” There is no aspect of life in Vidarbha that has not been impacted by the severe water scarcity.
Matter of life and death
In the village of Jaulkhed in Akola we meet a baby deer that strolled in with the goats returning from grazing. A sympathetic village has adopted the young creature, who seems at ease with his new world. Other wildlife has been less fortunate. Boar, deer and even peacocks coming out of the forest or woods for water have been eaten by hungry villagers. The desperate search for water is a matter of life and, literally, death.
Across rural Amravati, Akola, Washim and Yavatmal, almost every human being you see between 6 and 10 a.m. in the morning (and often at other hours, too) is collecting or searching for water. If they're women or even tiny girls, they're carrying vessels, empty or full, on their heads. If men, they're riding some sort of cart or bicycle trying to collect as much water as they can find. This sometimes means fiddling with the valves of pipelines or just marauding any well they can. Wells that still have some water, that is. One group talks to us while emptying such a well. “Look at this water,” says one of them smiling, showing us a brownish liquid in his battered can. Meanwhile, some of Vidarbha's reservoirs are approaching or have arrived at dead storage levels. That is, at levels from which the water cannot be lifted or transported.
“In some of our villages,” says Vasudev Ingle in Kinkhed in Akola district, “you can get water through the formal supply once in 10 or 12 days.” Maya Ove of Dharel village, carrying three pots on her head, each atop the other, stops to agree. “This takes hours of our time every day.” Even the livestock you see are searching for water. And wild animals are wandering into the farms or villages looking for it.
Vidarbha is not a very low rainfall region. Some of its districts get 900 mm or more a year on average. But the last two years have been bad. Rainfall has either been very deficient or highly erratic in timing and intensity. The drought of mid-2009 really took its toll on people from February and March this year. Had the 2009 crop not failed in the drought, the income from that would have come in fully in February and March. In single crop areas, which most of this region really is, crop failure means up to 24 months without income. Two successive failures could mean up to 34 months that way. A third is too awful to contemplate in a region already beset by crisis, farm suicides and man-made calamity.
“The water position is very serious,” says Amravati Divisional Commissioner Dinesh Waghmere. Five of Vidarbha's six ‘crisis' districts fall in this division which has had 3,465 of its villages declared as scarcity-hit. “Most reservoirs are running at levels of 8-10 per cent or even much less. In Yavatmal, there are some at dead storage level.” At that stage, it serves only to keep the fish alive. In Pentakli in Buldhana district, for instance, the level is 0.98 per cent. In Arunavati in Yavatmal, it's at 3.21 per cent. In Bembla in the same district, it is almost dry.
Groundwater crisis
The groundwater crisis is no less acute. Over extraction, misuse and illegal “water mining” have combined with other factors to push the water table ever lower. In some talukas, says a geologist with the Groundwater Survey and Development Authority (GSDA), the depletion has been three metres in five years and eight since 2000. Lack of rain does not help an already poor recharge. Meteorological drought has combined with its hydrological counterpart to sharpen the problem. “For years, strengthening water sources and helping improve recharge — these vital things were never taken up in this region,” says a senior official. “Now we're paying the price.” And the effects of water-related projects under both Prime Minister's and Chief Minister's packages, if any, are invisible.
The heat is on, quite literally. Afternoon temperatures cross 45°C or worse. That 8 to 10 hour power cuts end up crossing 14 hours “unofficially”, does little to improve tempers.
Administrators locally have stepped up the number of tankers carrying water to villagers. Yavatmal has over 200 functioning, Buldhana 61, Washim 55 and so on. The local administrations have also been requisitioning private wells for Rs.300 a day on average and supplying water from there to a desperate people. “Even those are running out,” says one official. We can add more tankers, but where's the water?”
Some are counting the days to June 15 by which time they hope the rains arrive. Yavatmal Collector Sanjay Deshmukh is going to release water from what remains in a few days from now. “What's the point of holding on to it with people in such need of it?” he asks. “The amount there is, we will lose it anyway to evaporation. It's at such levels. Better people get to drink it than watch it dry up.”
Meanwhile Qureshi, who has watched it dry up, is seeking renewal of his licence to operate in Panderkauda town. “I'm done with my old circuit,” he says. “The villages are no place to sell meat.”
P. SAINATH Parched land:Across rural Amravati, Akola, Washim and Yavatmal, almost every human being you see in the morning is collecting or searching for water. A scene in Akola.
He's a butcher out of business. “I want to shift to a town like Panderkauda,” says Sarfaraz Qureshi in Yavatmal district. “I'm unable to sell any meat in the villages I work in.” Qureshi is a small operator who carries as much meat as he can load on to his motorcycle to poor tribal villages on the forest edge. And there he sells at very low prices. “Yet my business has collapsed,” he says. But why? Have people in those villages stopped consuming meat? Are they now unable to afford even his prices?
“These past months, they're eating more meat than ever before,” says Qureshi. “Only, it's free. The forests are stone dry and the drought has seen many wild animals coming out these past months to the fields and farms in search of water — only to be trapped and eaten. So how can I sell any meat? I've made many trips and sold nothing.” There is no aspect of life in Vidarbha that has not been impacted by the severe water scarcity.
Matter of life and death
In the village of Jaulkhed in Akola we meet a baby deer that strolled in with the goats returning from grazing. A sympathetic village has adopted the young creature, who seems at ease with his new world. Other wildlife has been less fortunate. Boar, deer and even peacocks coming out of the forest or woods for water have been eaten by hungry villagers. The desperate search for water is a matter of life and, literally, death.
Across rural Amravati, Akola, Washim and Yavatmal, almost every human being you see between 6 and 10 a.m. in the morning (and often at other hours, too) is collecting or searching for water. If they're women or even tiny girls, they're carrying vessels, empty or full, on their heads. If men, they're riding some sort of cart or bicycle trying to collect as much water as they can find. This sometimes means fiddling with the valves of pipelines or just marauding any well they can. Wells that still have some water, that is. One group talks to us while emptying such a well. “Look at this water,” says one of them smiling, showing us a brownish liquid in his battered can. Meanwhile, some of Vidarbha's reservoirs are approaching or have arrived at dead storage levels. That is, at levels from which the water cannot be lifted or transported.
“In some of our villages,” says Vasudev Ingle in Kinkhed in Akola district, “you can get water through the formal supply once in 10 or 12 days.” Maya Ove of Dharel village, carrying three pots on her head, each atop the other, stops to agree. “This takes hours of our time every day.” Even the livestock you see are searching for water. And wild animals are wandering into the farms or villages looking for it.
Vidarbha is not a very low rainfall region. Some of its districts get 900 mm or more a year on average. But the last two years have been bad. Rainfall has either been very deficient or highly erratic in timing and intensity. The drought of mid-2009 really took its toll on people from February and March this year. Had the 2009 crop not failed in the drought, the income from that would have come in fully in February and March. In single crop areas, which most of this region really is, crop failure means up to 24 months without income. Two successive failures could mean up to 34 months that way. A third is too awful to contemplate in a region already beset by crisis, farm suicides and man-made calamity.
“The water position is very serious,” says Amravati Divisional Commissioner Dinesh Waghmere. Five of Vidarbha's six ‘crisis' districts fall in this division which has had 3,465 of its villages declared as scarcity-hit. “Most reservoirs are running at levels of 8-10 per cent or even much less. In Yavatmal, there are some at dead storage level.” At that stage, it serves only to keep the fish alive. In Pentakli in Buldhana district, for instance, the level is 0.98 per cent. In Arunavati in Yavatmal, it's at 3.21 per cent. In Bembla in the same district, it is almost dry.
Groundwater crisis
The groundwater crisis is no less acute. Over extraction, misuse and illegal “water mining” have combined with other factors to push the water table ever lower. In some talukas, says a geologist with the Groundwater Survey and Development Authority (GSDA), the depletion has been three metres in five years and eight since 2000. Lack of rain does not help an already poor recharge. Meteorological drought has combined with its hydrological counterpart to sharpen the problem. “For years, strengthening water sources and helping improve recharge — these vital things were never taken up in this region,” says a senior official. “Now we're paying the price.” And the effects of water-related projects under both Prime Minister's and Chief Minister's packages, if any, are invisible.
The heat is on, quite literally. Afternoon temperatures cross 45°C or worse. That 8 to 10 hour power cuts end up crossing 14 hours “unofficially”, does little to improve tempers.
Administrators locally have stepped up the number of tankers carrying water to villagers. Yavatmal has over 200 functioning, Buldhana 61, Washim 55 and so on. The local administrations have also been requisitioning private wells for Rs.300 a day on average and supplying water from there to a desperate people. “Even those are running out,” says one official. We can add more tankers, but where's the water?”
Some are counting the days to June 15 by which time they hope the rains arrive. Yavatmal Collector Sanjay Deshmukh is going to release water from what remains in a few days from now. “What's the point of holding on to it with people in such need of it?” he asks. “The amount there is, we will lose it anyway to evaporation. It's at such levels. Better people get to drink it than watch it dry up.”
Meanwhile Qureshi, who has watched it dry up, is seeking renewal of his licence to operate in Panderkauda town. “I'm done with my old circuit,” he says. “The villages are no place to sell meat.”
Experts seek hike in global water price (The Hindu 29 April 2010)
World Bank and OECD say water must be valued at a higher price in order to force prudent use and create efficient supply systems.
E. Lakshmi Narayanan Precious drops:Water going waste from a public tap in Salem. Experts say highly subsidised prices cause people to not use water prudently.
Major economies are pushing for substantial increases in the price of water around the world as concern mounts about dwindling supplies and rising population.
With official U.N. figures showing that one billion people lack access to clean drinking water and more than double that number do not have proper sanitation, increases in prices will be — and in some countries are already proving to be — hugely controversial.
However, experts argue that as long as most countries provide huge subsidies for water it will not be possible to change the wasteful habits of consumers, farmers and industry, nor to raise the investment needed to repair old supply systems and build new ones. And price rises can be managed so that they do not penalise the poorest.
On April 23, the World Bank held a high-level private meeting about water in New York, at which higher prices were discussed.
Days before that the OECD, which represents the world's major economies, issued three water reports calling for prices to rise. “Putting a price on water will make us aware of the scarcity and make us take better care of it,” said Angel Gurria, the OECD secretary-general. It was a key theme at the Global Water Summit of industry leaders in Paris, which ended on Tuesday and which was hosted by Global Water Intelligence.
The discussion at the World Bank was raised by Lars Thunell, chief executive officer of the International Finance Corporation. “Everyone said water must be somehow valued: whether you call it cost, or price, or cost recover,” said Usha Rao-Monari, senior manager of the IFC's infrastructure department. “It's not an infinite resource, and anything that's not an infinite resource must be valued.”
Concern about dwindling water supplies has been rising with growing populations and economies. And with climate change altering rainfall patterns, experts warn that unless changes are made, up to half the world's population could live in areas without sustainable clean water to meet their daily needs.
Global Water Intelligence's 2010 market report estimated the industry needs to spend $571 billion a year to maintain and improve its networks and treatment plants to meet rising demand — more than three times this year's projected spending.
At the same time, a major report last year by consultants McKinsey, paid for by a group of water-dependent global brands including SABMiller and Nestle, said most of the estimated “gap” in water in 2030 could be met from efficiency savings such as better irrigation and new showerheads.
However, highly subsidised prices are hampering both investment and efficiency, because private and public companies cannot collect enough water, nor persuade farmers, homeowners and businesses to make — and sometimes pay for — changes to reduce their water use, say the experts.
“We were in a vicious cycle,” says Virgilio Rivera, a director of Manila Water, which took over water and sewage services in the city when the Philippines government passed a National Water Crisis Act in 1997.
“Lack of investment; poor service; government can't increase the water rates because customers are dissatisfied; they are not paying, so low cash flows; so the government can't improve the service.” Huge opposition to price rises is expected however, especially as so many prices are set by elected politicians.
Even in Washington DC there has been an outcry over calls for prices to double over the next five years to help the city raise money to spend on its 76-year-old network of leaking lead pipes.
Obstacles include long-term “legitimacy” from providing free or very cheap water; and vested interests, says Ms Rao-Monari, who cites the example of water vendors in India making big profits from desperate households.
The biggest concern though is the impact on the poorest households. There is evidence that they suffer most from the bad services of poorly funded water companies, because often they are not connected at all or have such bad services they are forced to rely on even more expensive water vendors.
In Manila, Manila Water increased bills from 4.5 to 30 pesos per cubic metre. At first there was resistance but by 2003 the company doubled connections from three million to six million, including 1.6 million of the poorest squatters, leakage had been cut drastically, and pressure and quality had improved, said Mr. Rivera, one of the company's directors visiting Paris. Bills for the poorest households are now less than one-tenth of when they relied on vendors, and payment in the slum areas is 100 per cent, said Mr. Rivera.
Some say step pricing can be used to protect a basic water allowance for drinking, cooking and washing — either for very low prices or for free, as it is in South Africa.
“I fully agree the water we need for hydration and minimal hygiene are part of the Human Rights declaration, but this is 25 litres of water [a day], which is the smallest part,” said Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman of food giant Nestle and one of the most prominent global business leaders campaigning on water. More than 95 per cent of water is used to grow food, for other household needs and for industry, he added.
Food prices should not have to rise as higher water bills could be offset by efficiency improvements, from irrigation, to new seeds, or even a changing pattern of what is eaten to favour less water-intensive ingredients, said Mr. Brabeck-Letmathe.
Others favour separating water supply from government's duty to take care of the most vulnerable. “Ideally utilities should not make any distinction between rich and poor,” said Prof. Asit Biswas, president of the Third World Centre for Water Management. “The moment you subsidise [someone's bill] people don't use water prudently.” — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2010
E. Lakshmi Narayanan Precious drops:Water going waste from a public tap in Salem. Experts say highly subsidised prices cause people to not use water prudently.
Major economies are pushing for substantial increases in the price of water around the world as concern mounts about dwindling supplies and rising population.
With official U.N. figures showing that one billion people lack access to clean drinking water and more than double that number do not have proper sanitation, increases in prices will be — and in some countries are already proving to be — hugely controversial.
However, experts argue that as long as most countries provide huge subsidies for water it will not be possible to change the wasteful habits of consumers, farmers and industry, nor to raise the investment needed to repair old supply systems and build new ones. And price rises can be managed so that they do not penalise the poorest.
On April 23, the World Bank held a high-level private meeting about water in New York, at which higher prices were discussed.
Days before that the OECD, which represents the world's major economies, issued three water reports calling for prices to rise. “Putting a price on water will make us aware of the scarcity and make us take better care of it,” said Angel Gurria, the OECD secretary-general. It was a key theme at the Global Water Summit of industry leaders in Paris, which ended on Tuesday and which was hosted by Global Water Intelligence.
The discussion at the World Bank was raised by Lars Thunell, chief executive officer of the International Finance Corporation. “Everyone said water must be somehow valued: whether you call it cost, or price, or cost recover,” said Usha Rao-Monari, senior manager of the IFC's infrastructure department. “It's not an infinite resource, and anything that's not an infinite resource must be valued.”
Concern about dwindling water supplies has been rising with growing populations and economies. And with climate change altering rainfall patterns, experts warn that unless changes are made, up to half the world's population could live in areas without sustainable clean water to meet their daily needs.
Global Water Intelligence's 2010 market report estimated the industry needs to spend $571 billion a year to maintain and improve its networks and treatment plants to meet rising demand — more than three times this year's projected spending.
At the same time, a major report last year by consultants McKinsey, paid for by a group of water-dependent global brands including SABMiller and Nestle, said most of the estimated “gap” in water in 2030 could be met from efficiency savings such as better irrigation and new showerheads.
However, highly subsidised prices are hampering both investment and efficiency, because private and public companies cannot collect enough water, nor persuade farmers, homeowners and businesses to make — and sometimes pay for — changes to reduce their water use, say the experts.
“We were in a vicious cycle,” says Virgilio Rivera, a director of Manila Water, which took over water and sewage services in the city when the Philippines government passed a National Water Crisis Act in 1997.
“Lack of investment; poor service; government can't increase the water rates because customers are dissatisfied; they are not paying, so low cash flows; so the government can't improve the service.” Huge opposition to price rises is expected however, especially as so many prices are set by elected politicians.
Even in Washington DC there has been an outcry over calls for prices to double over the next five years to help the city raise money to spend on its 76-year-old network of leaking lead pipes.
Obstacles include long-term “legitimacy” from providing free or very cheap water; and vested interests, says Ms Rao-Monari, who cites the example of water vendors in India making big profits from desperate households.
The biggest concern though is the impact on the poorest households. There is evidence that they suffer most from the bad services of poorly funded water companies, because often they are not connected at all or have such bad services they are forced to rely on even more expensive water vendors.
In Manila, Manila Water increased bills from 4.5 to 30 pesos per cubic metre. At first there was resistance but by 2003 the company doubled connections from three million to six million, including 1.6 million of the poorest squatters, leakage had been cut drastically, and pressure and quality had improved, said Mr. Rivera, one of the company's directors visiting Paris. Bills for the poorest households are now less than one-tenth of when they relied on vendors, and payment in the slum areas is 100 per cent, said Mr. Rivera.
Some say step pricing can be used to protect a basic water allowance for drinking, cooking and washing — either for very low prices or for free, as it is in South Africa.
“I fully agree the water we need for hydration and minimal hygiene are part of the Human Rights declaration, but this is 25 litres of water [a day], which is the smallest part,” said Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman of food giant Nestle and one of the most prominent global business leaders campaigning on water. More than 95 per cent of water is used to grow food, for other household needs and for industry, he added.
Food prices should not have to rise as higher water bills could be offset by efficiency improvements, from irrigation, to new seeds, or even a changing pattern of what is eaten to favour less water-intensive ingredients, said Mr. Brabeck-Letmathe.
Others favour separating water supply from government's duty to take care of the most vulnerable. “Ideally utilities should not make any distinction between rich and poor,” said Prof. Asit Biswas, president of the Third World Centre for Water Management. “The moment you subsidise [someone's bill] people don't use water prudently.” — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
NHRC notice to Delhi Jal Board (The Hindu- 11 June 2010)
The National Human Rights Commission has issued notices to Delhi government Chief Secretary and Delhi Jal Board Chairman, calling for reports within four weeks, on reports that samples of water in many areas of the Capital were found not potable.
The Commission suo motu took up the case based on media reports on May 19 alleging that out of 53 samples of drinking water taken from various areas in Delhi by an NGO – “Hazard Centre”, only two were found potable. The levels of faecal contamination, fluoride and arsenic were above the permissible limit in many areas.
The Commission felt the reports were distressing and “if these are true then it is a serious issue of violation of human rights of the people of Delhi,” the Commission observed and ordered notices.
According to a media report the water samples were taken from different water sources including DJB's piped supply in areas like Sonia Vihar, Najafgarh, Mehrauli, Okhla, Commonwealth Games Village and Chattarpur.
The tests were conducted at two places, the Jawaharlal Nehru University laboratory and People's Science Institute laboratory in Dehradun.
Mission Clean Ganga for Varanasi approved (The Hindu- 11 June 2010)
The Centre has approved a Rs.497-crore project for Varanasi under Mission Clean Ganga.
The project, which comes under the National Ganga River Basin Authority, will set up a plant to treat 140 million litres of sewage a day, lay 34 km of sewers and rehabilitate existing systems, construct three new pumping stations, build community toilets, renovate 26 ghats and develop seven dhobi ghats and build capacity to involve the public.
This is based on the demands that the system will face in 2025-30, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said.
The project, to be completed over the next five years, will receive 85 per cent of funding from the Centre, and the rest from the State government. The money is being raised through a soft loan from Japan.
Now, IITs roped in for clean-Ganga plan (Indian Express- 10 June 2010)
Kautilya Singh
Kanpur : After two Ganga Action Plans failed to deliver the goods, seven major IITs of the country have joined hands to find ways to clean up the national river.
After perusing a report submitted by the seven IITs, namely IIT Kanpur, Mumbai, Guwahati, Delhi, Kharagpur, Chennai and Roorkee, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has asked them to prepare a work plan for National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) in the next 18 months.
IIT-K Director Sanjay Govind Dhande has been appointed co-ordinator between the ministry and IITs, while Vinod Tare, professor in the Civil Engineering Department of IIT-K has been named convenor for the project.
Dhande told The Indian Express: “GAP was launched in 1985, but the project failed to bring down the pollution level of the national river, therefore the Union Environment and Forests ministry decided to give an opportunity to IITs to prepare a work plan for NGRBA.”
Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh had met with representatives of the seven IITs at IIT-Mumbai on March 13, 2010. During the meeting, he asked the IITs to prepare a detailed work plan for NGRBA, following which the IITs prepared an initial project report. The Ministry approved the report on June 7 and asked the seven IITs to submit a detailed project report on the work plan for NGRBA in the next 18 months.
Explaining the difference between GAP and NGRBA, Dhande said: “While the former concentrated on treatment of water at sites of extreme pollution, the latter aims to take care of river pollution as well as the development of the river surroundings.”
The IIT-K Director said the report would include short-term and long-term plans for perpetual development of the Ganga River Basin. “Our work plan would include development of a green cover on both sides of the river, ensuring a proper flow rate and depth of the river and methods to keep the river free from pollution,” he said. The work plan would aim at bringing down the pollution level considerably in the next 10 years.
After declaring the Ganga a national river, formation of NGRBA was the first major initiative of the Union Government for cleaning the river basin. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh heads NGRBA which includes the Chief Ministers of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Dhande clarified that the IITs were not the implementing agency for the project. “We will prepare the work policy for NGRBA, and it will be executed by different government and private organisations,” he said.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Climate council's water mission for India (Hindu 08 June 2010)
On May 28, 2010 the Prime Minster's Council on Climate Change, with Dr. Manmoan Singh being present, approved a water mission for India. This is an important event. The mission statement is an action plan catalysed by climate change response. Yet, it includes credible goals to meet India's serious water crisis towards a sustainable future. It articulates priorities of specific actions as well as an outline of general principles.
The mission's objective highlights water conservation, minimising wastage and ensuring equitable distribution both across and within States through integrated resource development and management. Notable among the mission's principles are: comprehensive data base in public domain; public participation through promotion of citizen-State interaction; integrated basin-wide management; enactment of State-wide legislation through persuasion; and review and adoption of a National Water Policy by March 2013. Notable among the specific goals are: expanding monitoring network; expeditious formulation of river-interlinking project; and implementing rainwater harvesting and augmentation of artificial recharge in all Blocks by 2017.
The goal of having a revised National Water Policy by 2013 is important because the mission's goals must occur within the framework of such a policy. If so, by what process should the revision be achieved? One perspective would be to recognise that there are multiple uses for water and an integrated approach based on basin development planning needs to be evolved, requiring political leadership at the local body level, state level and civil society organisations needed to be involved in activities of the water mission. This perspective would foresee a policy that enables formulation of statutes, rules and regulations that would authorise various strategies to balance supply and demand. A second perspective would be to recognise that water is a natural phenomenon, vital for the sustenance of all living things, whose renewable availability is finite and vulnerable to depletion and degradation. Each of these approaches will likely endow different flavour to the national water policy.
The ideals of equitable sharing of water, integrated management of surface water, soil water and groundwater, intra-basin and inter-basin water transfer, participation of an enlightened public in decision-making, and welfare of politically weak segments of society raise philosophical questions about how management strategies may relate to societal values. Science and technology will offer a spectrum of strategies for water management, from which choices have to be made, balancing individual rights with communal responsibility. To make these choices even-handedly and uniformly throughout the nation, laws governing water have to be founded on thoughtfully laid out fundamental principles. In this regard, many countries and the European Union have incorporated the doctrine public trust in their Constitution because public trust, rooted in the European cultural tradition, indicates how property owned by the people without formal Title may be governed.
India's Supreme Court has favoured public trust, and has invoked the doctrine as being implicit in Article 21 that assures right to life and personal liberty. At a time when India is embarked on revising its National Water Policy, it seems reasonable assume that India may benefit from an open public debate about defining a set of fundamental principles that will guide critical decisions about water sharing, allocation, distribution, and management in a broad sense. If such fundamental principles, properly articulated, are mandated in India's Constitution, they will provide the necessary legal and moral authority to the executive branch for achieving the goals of the Mission, and provide a clear basis for the judicial branch to exercise judicial review.
Clearly, public debate on such a vital matter requires that the citizens are provided with a basic body of credible information about water as a natural phenomenon, the jurisprudential concepts based on which one may judge what is entailed in adapting to natural availability of water, and how other societies and civilisations have approached the challenging issue of adapting to the natural laws that govern water. The science of water, as it relates to water management, centres around the hydrological cycle, and its connections to nutrient cycles, ecosystems and the environment. Water policy is fundamentally concerned with equitably sharing the resource, given the bounds of the natural attributes of the water cycle, in conformity with the rights and responsibilities that are inherent in democratic self-governance.
To enable the general public to educate itself on these essentials, India's distinguished Academies can help by compiling the best available scientific information on the hydrological cycle as it functions in an interconnected earth, India's natural endowments of water, and the framework within which nations around the world are managing water. Additionally, India's centres of higher learning and philanthropic institutions devoted to bringing together science, society and ethics may significantly contribute by facilitating constructive dialogues at various levels.
Undoubtedly, India's water crisis poses major technical and social challenges. At the same time, India also has an opportunity to provide world leadership in enlightened democratic self-governance of a vital natural resource.
( T. N. Narasimhan is Professor Emeritus, Materials Science and Engineering Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California at Berkeley. Email: tnnarasimhan@LBL.gov)
The mission's objective highlights water conservation, minimising wastage and ensuring equitable distribution both across and within States through integrated resource development and management. Notable among the mission's principles are: comprehensive data base in public domain; public participation through promotion of citizen-State interaction; integrated basin-wide management; enactment of State-wide legislation through persuasion; and review and adoption of a National Water Policy by March 2013. Notable among the specific goals are: expanding monitoring network; expeditious formulation of river-interlinking project; and implementing rainwater harvesting and augmentation of artificial recharge in all Blocks by 2017.
The goal of having a revised National Water Policy by 2013 is important because the mission's goals must occur within the framework of such a policy. If so, by what process should the revision be achieved? One perspective would be to recognise that there are multiple uses for water and an integrated approach based on basin development planning needs to be evolved, requiring political leadership at the local body level, state level and civil society organisations needed to be involved in activities of the water mission. This perspective would foresee a policy that enables formulation of statutes, rules and regulations that would authorise various strategies to balance supply and demand. A second perspective would be to recognise that water is a natural phenomenon, vital for the sustenance of all living things, whose renewable availability is finite and vulnerable to depletion and degradation. Each of these approaches will likely endow different flavour to the national water policy.
The ideals of equitable sharing of water, integrated management of surface water, soil water and groundwater, intra-basin and inter-basin water transfer, participation of an enlightened public in decision-making, and welfare of politically weak segments of society raise philosophical questions about how management strategies may relate to societal values. Science and technology will offer a spectrum of strategies for water management, from which choices have to be made, balancing individual rights with communal responsibility. To make these choices even-handedly and uniformly throughout the nation, laws governing water have to be founded on thoughtfully laid out fundamental principles. In this regard, many countries and the European Union have incorporated the doctrine public trust in their Constitution because public trust, rooted in the European cultural tradition, indicates how property owned by the people without formal Title may be governed.
India's Supreme Court has favoured public trust, and has invoked the doctrine as being implicit in Article 21 that assures right to life and personal liberty. At a time when India is embarked on revising its National Water Policy, it seems reasonable assume that India may benefit from an open public debate about defining a set of fundamental principles that will guide critical decisions about water sharing, allocation, distribution, and management in a broad sense. If such fundamental principles, properly articulated, are mandated in India's Constitution, they will provide the necessary legal and moral authority to the executive branch for achieving the goals of the Mission, and provide a clear basis for the judicial branch to exercise judicial review.
Clearly, public debate on such a vital matter requires that the citizens are provided with a basic body of credible information about water as a natural phenomenon, the jurisprudential concepts based on which one may judge what is entailed in adapting to natural availability of water, and how other societies and civilisations have approached the challenging issue of adapting to the natural laws that govern water. The science of water, as it relates to water management, centres around the hydrological cycle, and its connections to nutrient cycles, ecosystems and the environment. Water policy is fundamentally concerned with equitably sharing the resource, given the bounds of the natural attributes of the water cycle, in conformity with the rights and responsibilities that are inherent in democratic self-governance.
To enable the general public to educate itself on these essentials, India's distinguished Academies can help by compiling the best available scientific information on the hydrological cycle as it functions in an interconnected earth, India's natural endowments of water, and the framework within which nations around the world are managing water. Additionally, India's centres of higher learning and philanthropic institutions devoted to bringing together science, society and ethics may significantly contribute by facilitating constructive dialogues at various levels.
Undoubtedly, India's water crisis poses major technical and social challenges. At the same time, India also has an opportunity to provide world leadership in enlightened democratic self-governance of a vital natural resource.
( T. N. Narasimhan is Professor Emeritus, Materials Science and Engineering Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California at Berkeley. Email: tnnarasimhan@LBL.gov)
Pitched battles for a pitcherful (The Pioneer 22 May 2010)
Water-related violence in Bundelkhand claims 5 in a week
Last week, Chunia Devi (42) was thrashed in Guraula village of Chitrakoot district, Uttar Pradesh, because her cattle drank a bucketful of water belonging to her neighbour. She was admitted to hospital for three days and still walks with a limp.
Sunder was beaten to death on May 17 by a mob in Ranipur village when he accidentally spilled a pitcher filled with water and refused to apologise.
Five-year-old Sushma died when two groups of people clashed over first use of hand pump in Nihi village in Manikpur. The child had come to quench her thirst when she received a fatal blow of lathi on her head.
Tempers are running high in parched Bundelkhand, where it’s raining fire from the skies. High temperature during the peak summer has left all the water bodies — including ponds, tubewells and hand pumps — dry. With water turning out to be a scarce commodity, people are coming to blows even for drops.Police records say that five persons died in the last one week over water disputes. The dead include five-year-old Sushma who had gone to drink water from a hand pump.“There is a water riot in Bundelkhand. Hundreds of people get injured almost every day as incidents of scuffle over water are becoming common. And, mind you, not all of these incidents are reported,” a senior police official in Banda told The Pioneer.Bundelkhand, the south-west region of Uttar Pradesh, is water deficient. The importance of water can be gauged from a common couplet which, translated into English, says: “A woman loves her pitcher more than her husband; she prays her pitcher should not break even if her husband dies.”Water is scarce in the Chitrakoot region, which has a rocky base. The soil level is just a foot deep. Groundwater flows through the stone cleavage and collects in the pit, which could be a well or the base of a hand pump. “The trouble starts when villagers try to take that water out. They know if they fail, they will have to wait hours till the pit is filled again. This gives rise to melee which at times culminates into violence,” Bhagwat Prasad, the director of Akhil Bharatiya Sewa Sansthan, an NGO that works in the Manikpur region, said.In Cherrila Khurd village, people and animals gather at a well around 4 am. The news has spread that the well is 1/4th full. Ramesh Kumar comes with his bullock-cart carrying a drum to collect water. The water is black in colour and surely not fit for human consumption.“We only drink this water. We have no option,” says Ramesh as he continues pulling buckets full of water from the well to fill his drum. Rampal, the son of the village’s woman pradhan, Daushia, says there are 11 hand pumps in village and all of them are working. If that’s so, why this commotion? “These villagers are mad. They prefer water from well to that from hand pumps,” he says.Villagers, however, say only two of the hand pumps are working. Excessive boring has led to drying-up of wells as well as hand pumps, they maintain.In Guraula, villagers used to collect water from a traditional well, which the oldies say had never gone dry. Gajendra, 56, said since his birth he had always seen water there. This year the well has gone dry.The villagers blame this on a nearby tube well installed by Jal Sansthan. “It is just 100 metres from that well. The tube well has sucked all the water,” Gajendra said. He has petitioned the Chatrakut District Magistrate to un-instal the tube well. “Tube well works on electricity. No electricity means no water. And for how many hours we get electricity is no secret,” he said.
Last week, Chunia Devi (42) was thrashed in Guraula village of Chitrakoot district, Uttar Pradesh, because her cattle drank a bucketful of water belonging to her neighbour. She was admitted to hospital for three days and still walks with a limp.
Sunder was beaten to death on May 17 by a mob in Ranipur village when he accidentally spilled a pitcher filled with water and refused to apologise.
Five-year-old Sushma died when two groups of people clashed over first use of hand pump in Nihi village in Manikpur. The child had come to quench her thirst when she received a fatal blow of lathi on her head.
Tempers are running high in parched Bundelkhand, where it’s raining fire from the skies. High temperature during the peak summer has left all the water bodies — including ponds, tubewells and hand pumps — dry. With water turning out to be a scarce commodity, people are coming to blows even for drops.Police records say that five persons died in the last one week over water disputes. The dead include five-year-old Sushma who had gone to drink water from a hand pump.“There is a water riot in Bundelkhand. Hundreds of people get injured almost every day as incidents of scuffle over water are becoming common. And, mind you, not all of these incidents are reported,” a senior police official in Banda told The Pioneer.Bundelkhand, the south-west region of Uttar Pradesh, is water deficient. The importance of water can be gauged from a common couplet which, translated into English, says: “A woman loves her pitcher more than her husband; she prays her pitcher should not break even if her husband dies.”Water is scarce in the Chitrakoot region, which has a rocky base. The soil level is just a foot deep. Groundwater flows through the stone cleavage and collects in the pit, which could be a well or the base of a hand pump. “The trouble starts when villagers try to take that water out. They know if they fail, they will have to wait hours till the pit is filled again. This gives rise to melee which at times culminates into violence,” Bhagwat Prasad, the director of Akhil Bharatiya Sewa Sansthan, an NGO that works in the Manikpur region, said.In Cherrila Khurd village, people and animals gather at a well around 4 am. The news has spread that the well is 1/4th full. Ramesh Kumar comes with his bullock-cart carrying a drum to collect water. The water is black in colour and surely not fit for human consumption.“We only drink this water. We have no option,” says Ramesh as he continues pulling buckets full of water from the well to fill his drum. Rampal, the son of the village’s woman pradhan, Daushia, says there are 11 hand pumps in village and all of them are working. If that’s so, why this commotion? “These villagers are mad. They prefer water from well to that from hand pumps,” he says.Villagers, however, say only two of the hand pumps are working. Excessive boring has led to drying-up of wells as well as hand pumps, they maintain.In Guraula, villagers used to collect water from a traditional well, which the oldies say had never gone dry. Gajendra, 56, said since his birth he had always seen water there. This year the well has gone dry.The villagers blame this on a nearby tube well installed by Jal Sansthan. “It is just 100 metres from that well. The tube well has sucked all the water,” Gajendra said. He has petitioned the Chatrakut District Magistrate to un-instal the tube well. “Tube well works on electricity. No electricity means no water. And for how many hours we get electricity is no secret,” he said.
‘Soft drink plants causing chromium pollution' (Hindu 06 June 2010)
NEW DELHI: Your daily dose of cola could be poisoning the lives of communities living near soft drink manufacturing plants, according to a study by Hazards Centre.
The NGO found high levels of toxic chromium and other pollutants in the soil and water around five Coca-Cola and Pepsico plants in North India.
The study was released two months after a Kerala government panel ruled that Coca-Cola must pay Rs.216 crore in compensation to villagers affected by pollution, and a depletion of groundwater resources, by its Plachimada bottling plant. Now five other communities — Mehdiganj and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Kaladera and Chopanki in Rajasthan, and Panipat in Haryana — are also claiming that soft drinks plants in their vicinity are responsible for their woes.
Could file PIL
“Our water is being contaminated...and the level of water has also dropped,” says Sharafat Ali, a Ghaziabad farmer who is also a member of the Azadi Bachao Andolan movement. “Our people are suffering from skin problems, stomach sickness,” he said at the release of the study in the Capital over the weekend.
Mr. Ali said villagers would first complain to local authorities, and could consider filing a PIL in the High Court later.
“We found that chromium was the most common pollutant,” said Hazards Centre director Dunu Roy. According to him, 59 of 85 water samples showed chromium concentration above the permissible limit of 0.05 parts per million (ppm), with some samples going as high as 5.64 ppm.
“Chromium can cause skin rashes, upset stomachs and ulcers, respiratory problems and cancer,” he said.
Cadmium and lead were also detected in samples from Ghaziabad. Concentrations were high in samples collected from the drains where factory effluents were discharged, showing that it is finding its way out from the manufacturing process.
Interestingly, the Hazards Centre says that since these heavy metals are not supposed to be part of the process for manufacturing beverages, no standards are specified for them for this industry sector in the Environmental Protection Act, 1986. High Chemical Oxygen Demand levels also show that the effluent must contain a significant amount of chemicals other than the three heavy metals analysed, according to the study.
No, says Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola has rejected the study's findings, saying that its operations conform to Pollution Control Board (PCB) norms. The company says a comprehensive 2009 study by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute and IL&FS Ecosmart at Kaladera and Mehandiganj found no adverse impacts on soil and groundwater quality.
“Water is the main ingredient in all of our products and we have a shared interest in protecting the quantity and quality of this precious resource. It would be unreasonable for anyone to think the company itself would contaminate its main raw material,” said a release from Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Private Ltd.
Pepsico insisted that its plants meet PCB norms, but declined to comment on the specific charges, saying that the report had not been shared with it.
The study was conducted between 2006 and 2008, with samples being tested at the People's Science Institute in Dehra Dun.
The NGO found high levels of toxic chromium and other pollutants in the soil and water around five Coca-Cola and Pepsico plants in North India.
The study was released two months after a Kerala government panel ruled that Coca-Cola must pay Rs.216 crore in compensation to villagers affected by pollution, and a depletion of groundwater resources, by its Plachimada bottling plant. Now five other communities — Mehdiganj and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Kaladera and Chopanki in Rajasthan, and Panipat in Haryana — are also claiming that soft drinks plants in their vicinity are responsible for their woes.
Could file PIL
“Our water is being contaminated...and the level of water has also dropped,” says Sharafat Ali, a Ghaziabad farmer who is also a member of the Azadi Bachao Andolan movement. “Our people are suffering from skin problems, stomach sickness,” he said at the release of the study in the Capital over the weekend.
Mr. Ali said villagers would first complain to local authorities, and could consider filing a PIL in the High Court later.
“We found that chromium was the most common pollutant,” said Hazards Centre director Dunu Roy. According to him, 59 of 85 water samples showed chromium concentration above the permissible limit of 0.05 parts per million (ppm), with some samples going as high as 5.64 ppm.
“Chromium can cause skin rashes, upset stomachs and ulcers, respiratory problems and cancer,” he said.
Cadmium and lead were also detected in samples from Ghaziabad. Concentrations were high in samples collected from the drains where factory effluents were discharged, showing that it is finding its way out from the manufacturing process.
Interestingly, the Hazards Centre says that since these heavy metals are not supposed to be part of the process for manufacturing beverages, no standards are specified for them for this industry sector in the Environmental Protection Act, 1986. High Chemical Oxygen Demand levels also show that the effluent must contain a significant amount of chemicals other than the three heavy metals analysed, according to the study.
No, says Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola has rejected the study's findings, saying that its operations conform to Pollution Control Board (PCB) norms. The company says a comprehensive 2009 study by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute and IL&FS Ecosmart at Kaladera and Mehandiganj found no adverse impacts on soil and groundwater quality.
“Water is the main ingredient in all of our products and we have a shared interest in protecting the quantity and quality of this precious resource. It would be unreasonable for anyone to think the company itself would contaminate its main raw material,” said a release from Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Private Ltd.
Pepsico insisted that its plants meet PCB norms, but declined to comment on the specific charges, saying that the report had not been shared with it.
The study was conducted between 2006 and 2008, with samples being tested at the People's Science Institute in Dehra Dun.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Linking water to environmental care (Hindu 11 May 2010)
Creeping in:The Secret Lake, once a main drinking water source for the Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, is shrinking due to encroachers dumping debris on the lake bed.
The task of providing water where needed is becoming increasingly difficult across the world. Countries have, in recent decades, been investing in infrastructure designed to alleviate water shortages. But the response has, for the most part, overlooked the problem posed by the deteriorating state of aquatic resources. If the growing crisis is to be effectively addressed, water use needs to be linked with environmental care.
In many places, even where water is still plentiful, environmental destruction has made water too expensive to use. In some others that enjoy a good supply of water, it is used inappropriately. Priorities can be so askew that while cities remain desperate for water, farmers are irrigating fruits or cotton in the desert. Even less acceptable, potable water is used to maintain gardens and golf courses while the urban poor are forced to pay dearly to buy drinking water by the bucket.
As a result, about 700 million people in over 40 countries are affected by water shortages. Human encroachment on water environments is also a growing problem. By 2030 the United Nations predicts that 75 per cent of the world's population will live in coastal areas, putting at risk wetlands that help clean the water environment as well as exposing hundreds of millions of people to the water-related hazards associated with climate change.
The World Bank is the largest official financier of water investments in developing countries. Loan commitments in the past decade were some $55 billion, with China and India topping the list of borrowers, followed by Brazil and Indonesia. Water projects, covering irrigation and hydropower to watershed management and inland waterways, have shown greater success in recent years than other sectors in meeting their objectives. Yet the challenge remains of meeting today's water needs while putting in place innovative strategies to address future requirements. Areas for emphasis fall in five main areas along the axis of water development and environmental management.
Firstly, the most water-stressed group consists of 45 countries — 35 of them in Africa — that are water poor. Water sustainability needs to become central to their development plans, with tailored measures to help meet their urgent needs. Even water-rich countries such as Brazil or Thailand can face deficiency as water levels in dams and from natural sources fall.
Secondly, groundwater is increasingly threatened by over-exploitation, inadequate environmental flows, and contamination. The most severe groundwater depletion is in West Asia, North Africa, and South Asia. Needed efforts include monitoring groundwater quality, landfill site improvements, and the reduction of infiltration by contaminated surface water into groundwater.
Thirdly, restoration of degraded environments can have big impacts. A Coastal Wetlands Protection project in Vietnam, for example, tried to balance environmental protection with the livelihood needs of people dependent on natural resources. The project helped to reduce the area of coastal erosion by as much as 40 per cent.
Fourthly, the United Nations estimates that 1.8 billion people will still not have access to basic sanitation in 2015. More emphasis is needed not only on low-cost solutions to basic sanitation but also on household connections to sanitation systems. East Asia has had the most progress among developing regions in sanitation.
Fifthly, investments in water supply need to be coupled with management of demand. Agriculture is the largest user of water in most settings, where efficiency improving technologies are not enough to improve water use. Greater cost-recovery in water projects would be helpful. Fixing and enforcing quotas for water use, a relatively recent approach, deserves careful evaluation.
Even when these priorities are known, it has been difficult to translate them into action. When the key players sit down to bargain about the allocation of water, the environment gets short shrift. Seldom is there support for rescuing a falling aquifer if water can still be extracted, or for restoring wetlands, or for keeping enough water flowing through a river so that wildlife can survive and saline intrusion is prevented. Political support for reform is often hindered by serious gaps in understanding a country's water situation. Better data, systematic monitoring and disclosure of findings are crucial to resource mobilisation and action. Knowledge sharing in turn supports the financial outlays and enables better results on the ground.
The task of providing water where needed is becoming increasingly difficult across the world. Countries have, in recent decades, been investing in infrastructure designed to alleviate water shortages. But the response has, for the most part, overlooked the problem posed by the deteriorating state of aquatic resources. If the growing crisis is to be effectively addressed, water use needs to be linked with environmental care.
In many places, even where water is still plentiful, environmental destruction has made water too expensive to use. In some others that enjoy a good supply of water, it is used inappropriately. Priorities can be so askew that while cities remain desperate for water, farmers are irrigating fruits or cotton in the desert. Even less acceptable, potable water is used to maintain gardens and golf courses while the urban poor are forced to pay dearly to buy drinking water by the bucket.
As a result, about 700 million people in over 40 countries are affected by water shortages. Human encroachment on water environments is also a growing problem. By 2030 the United Nations predicts that 75 per cent of the world's population will live in coastal areas, putting at risk wetlands that help clean the water environment as well as exposing hundreds of millions of people to the water-related hazards associated with climate change.
The World Bank is the largest official financier of water investments in developing countries. Loan commitments in the past decade were some $55 billion, with China and India topping the list of borrowers, followed by Brazil and Indonesia. Water projects, covering irrigation and hydropower to watershed management and inland waterways, have shown greater success in recent years than other sectors in meeting their objectives. Yet the challenge remains of meeting today's water needs while putting in place innovative strategies to address future requirements. Areas for emphasis fall in five main areas along the axis of water development and environmental management.
Firstly, the most water-stressed group consists of 45 countries — 35 of them in Africa — that are water poor. Water sustainability needs to become central to their development plans, with tailored measures to help meet their urgent needs. Even water-rich countries such as Brazil or Thailand can face deficiency as water levels in dams and from natural sources fall.
Secondly, groundwater is increasingly threatened by over-exploitation, inadequate environmental flows, and contamination. The most severe groundwater depletion is in West Asia, North Africa, and South Asia. Needed efforts include monitoring groundwater quality, landfill site improvements, and the reduction of infiltration by contaminated surface water into groundwater.
Thirdly, restoration of degraded environments can have big impacts. A Coastal Wetlands Protection project in Vietnam, for example, tried to balance environmental protection with the livelihood needs of people dependent on natural resources. The project helped to reduce the area of coastal erosion by as much as 40 per cent.
Fourthly, the United Nations estimates that 1.8 billion people will still not have access to basic sanitation in 2015. More emphasis is needed not only on low-cost solutions to basic sanitation but also on household connections to sanitation systems. East Asia has had the most progress among developing regions in sanitation.
Fifthly, investments in water supply need to be coupled with management of demand. Agriculture is the largest user of water in most settings, where efficiency improving technologies are not enough to improve water use. Greater cost-recovery in water projects would be helpful. Fixing and enforcing quotas for water use, a relatively recent approach, deserves careful evaluation.
Even when these priorities are known, it has been difficult to translate them into action. When the key players sit down to bargain about the allocation of water, the environment gets short shrift. Seldom is there support for rescuing a falling aquifer if water can still be extracted, or for restoring wetlands, or for keeping enough water flowing through a river so that wildlife can survive and saline intrusion is prevented. Political support for reform is often hindered by serious gaps in understanding a country's water situation. Better data, systematic monitoring and disclosure of findings are crucial to resource mobilisation and action. Knowledge sharing in turn supports the financial outlays and enables better results on the ground.
Maheshwar dam work to resume partially (Hindu 11 May 2010)
NEW DELHI: Under pressure from the Madhya Pradesh government and the Prime Minister's office (PMO), the Ministry of Environment and Forests, modifying its own suspension order, has decided to allow partial construction of the Maheshwar dam to resume.
Sources from the Ministry told The Hindu that the decision was taken in light of technical advice from the Central Water Commission that certain parts of the project, including the seven gates that are now under construction, need to be completed in order to prevent flooding during monsoon.
“Whatever is required to ensure safety will be allowed. The [suspension] order will still apply to all other civil works,” said a senior official. The modified order is likely to be issued on Tuesday.
The dam is being built in Madhya Pradesh by the S. Kumar group. Construction was suspended by the Ministry on April 23 due to “negligible” relief and rehabilitation work.
The decision to modify the order was taken after a representation from Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh prompted the PMO to convene a meeting on May 7. While the CWC gave its opinion in writing on the risk involved if the work was stopped completely, the M.P. Chief Secretary gave an assurance on behalf of the State government that R&R work would be completed. Incidentally, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh was out of the country on that day.
A Ministry source also indicated that a “political decision” on Maheshwar could be taken only by the PMO. “In view of the CWC's technical advice and the M.P. government's assurance at the level of the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary, the MoEF has no option but to modify.”
The Narmada Bachao Andolan, which is coordinating the protest on the failure to complete R&R work, has said that “since the earlier [suspension] order was under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act, it cannot be modified and work cannot be resumed on the basis of assurances.”
According to the terms of environmental clearance, R&R work was to have kept pace with the dam construction, and should have been completed six months prior to submergence. However, the construction is now more than 80 per cent complete, and submergence is expected by November 2010, while less than 5 per cent of R&R work has been completed. More than 10,000 families will be affected by the submergence.
Sources from the Ministry told The Hindu that the decision was taken in light of technical advice from the Central Water Commission that certain parts of the project, including the seven gates that are now under construction, need to be completed in order to prevent flooding during monsoon.
“Whatever is required to ensure safety will be allowed. The [suspension] order will still apply to all other civil works,” said a senior official. The modified order is likely to be issued on Tuesday.
The dam is being built in Madhya Pradesh by the S. Kumar group. Construction was suspended by the Ministry on April 23 due to “negligible” relief and rehabilitation work.
The decision to modify the order was taken after a representation from Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh prompted the PMO to convene a meeting on May 7. While the CWC gave its opinion in writing on the risk involved if the work was stopped completely, the M.P. Chief Secretary gave an assurance on behalf of the State government that R&R work would be completed. Incidentally, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh was out of the country on that day.
A Ministry source also indicated that a “political decision” on Maheshwar could be taken only by the PMO. “In view of the CWC's technical advice and the M.P. government's assurance at the level of the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary, the MoEF has no option but to modify.”
The Narmada Bachao Andolan, which is coordinating the protest on the failure to complete R&R work, has said that “since the earlier [suspension] order was under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act, it cannot be modified and work cannot be resumed on the basis of assurances.”
According to the terms of environmental clearance, R&R work was to have kept pace with the dam construction, and should have been completed six months prior to submergence. However, the construction is now more than 80 per cent complete, and submergence is expected by November 2010, while less than 5 per cent of R&R work has been completed. More than 10,000 families will be affected by the submergence.
Natural resources under threat from eminent domain doctrine: Binayak Sen (Hindu 04 May 2010)
CHENNAI: Natural resources in the country are under threat as vast tracts of land, forest and water reserves are being handed over to Indian affiliates of international finance capital under cover of the eminent domain doctrine, or the state's pre-eminent ownership of land, Binayak Sen, human rights activist and vice-president of the People's Union for Civil Liberties, said on Monday.
Dr. Sen cited Chhattisgarh as an example of the dispossession phenomena to illustrate how the hold exercised by the poor over their resources was increasingly coming under challenge with industrial and economic development.
He was delivering an address on ‘Hunger, Dispossession, and the Quest for Justice' at the convocation of the Class of 2010 of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) here, administered by the Media Development Foundation (MDF).
“In many ways, the history of ‘development' projects in many parts of the Indian Republic are illustrative of the way in which the doctrine of ‘eminent domain' had been applied for the so-called public interest to cause major havoc and displacement in the lives of many of the poorest citizens living at subsistence levels.”
In Chhattisgarh, it had become imperative for the Indian state to assert its sovereignty under the law of eminent domain and stand guarantor for the secure sequestration of these resources in the hands of the Indian affiliates of global finance capital.
While the Directive Principles clearly mandated that all exercise of state power should be for the reduction of inequity and promotion of equity, recent trends in the use of state power clearly violated this mandate and actually resulted in increasing inequities in the areas of livelihood, education and health.
“Development in tribal areas is not only about building roads or buildings but about the operationalisation of equity, social justice and people's sovereignty. While everyone talks about peace, genuine peace cannot mean acquiescence in an exploitative and unjust social order, but rather it should be the result of a movement for equity and justice,” Dr. Sen said.
However, he said, this assertion of the state's right sparked off outrage and popular protest that was proving difficult to curb. In Bastar, popular resistance to state attempts to impose the eminent domain principle had a history that had a far greater spread in terms of duration, geographical extent as well as political and institutional identity than the current operational entity, the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
In Chhattisgarh, the term “Maoist” had become a catch-all attribution for anyone whose activities the state found inimical to its interests.
Stating that Bastar had turned into a war-zone since the launch of Operation Green Hunt, Dr. Sen cited the international Convention on the Prevention of Genocide to contend that evidence of what was happening in central India was tantamount to genocide on a massive scale because of the creation of “physically and mentally hazardous conditions which could put the survival of particular communities at risk.”
N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of TheHindu and MDF trustee, said though there were many problems with contemporary media, the ACJ programme had foregrounded the core principles of journalism by having no truck with public relations or other fields unlike as some schools did.
“A full-fledged media ethics programme would be an integral part of the course,” he said.
Sashi Kumar, MDF chairman, said that at a time when the credibility of the media was not as implicit as it once was, the challenge of a J-school was to have an education programme that was steadfast in upholding cardinal principles and also set the bar for the profession.
Dr. Sen cited Chhattisgarh as an example of the dispossession phenomena to illustrate how the hold exercised by the poor over their resources was increasingly coming under challenge with industrial and economic development.
He was delivering an address on ‘Hunger, Dispossession, and the Quest for Justice' at the convocation of the Class of 2010 of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) here, administered by the Media Development Foundation (MDF).
“In many ways, the history of ‘development' projects in many parts of the Indian Republic are illustrative of the way in which the doctrine of ‘eminent domain' had been applied for the so-called public interest to cause major havoc and displacement in the lives of many of the poorest citizens living at subsistence levels.”
In Chhattisgarh, it had become imperative for the Indian state to assert its sovereignty under the law of eminent domain and stand guarantor for the secure sequestration of these resources in the hands of the Indian affiliates of global finance capital.
While the Directive Principles clearly mandated that all exercise of state power should be for the reduction of inequity and promotion of equity, recent trends in the use of state power clearly violated this mandate and actually resulted in increasing inequities in the areas of livelihood, education and health.
“Development in tribal areas is not only about building roads or buildings but about the operationalisation of equity, social justice and people's sovereignty. While everyone talks about peace, genuine peace cannot mean acquiescence in an exploitative and unjust social order, but rather it should be the result of a movement for equity and justice,” Dr. Sen said.
However, he said, this assertion of the state's right sparked off outrage and popular protest that was proving difficult to curb. In Bastar, popular resistance to state attempts to impose the eminent domain principle had a history that had a far greater spread in terms of duration, geographical extent as well as political and institutional identity than the current operational entity, the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
In Chhattisgarh, the term “Maoist” had become a catch-all attribution for anyone whose activities the state found inimical to its interests.
Stating that Bastar had turned into a war-zone since the launch of Operation Green Hunt, Dr. Sen cited the international Convention on the Prevention of Genocide to contend that evidence of what was happening in central India was tantamount to genocide on a massive scale because of the creation of “physically and mentally hazardous conditions which could put the survival of particular communities at risk.”
N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of TheHindu and MDF trustee, said though there were many problems with contemporary media, the ACJ programme had foregrounded the core principles of journalism by having no truck with public relations or other fields unlike as some schools did.
“A full-fledged media ethics programme would be an integral part of the course,” he said.
Sashi Kumar, MDF chairman, said that at a time when the credibility of the media was not as implicit as it once was, the challenge of a J-school was to have an education programme that was steadfast in upholding cardinal principles and also set the bar for the profession.
प्याऊ पर लगा ताला (Dainik Bhaskar Madhya Predesh Ujjani 13 May 2010)
गर्मी में लोगों की प्यास बुझाने के लिए कई जगह प्याऊ खोली जा रही हैं लेकिन हरसिद्धि मंदिर के बाहर वर्षों पुरानी प्याऊ में ताले डले हैं। मंदिर में दर्शन के लिए आने वाले श्रद्धालुओं को बाहर की तरफ पानी के लिए भटकना पड़ रहा हैं। अधिकमास में सप्त सागर यात्रा चलने से रुद्रसागर के किनारे श्रद्धालुओं की भीड़ उमड़ रही है। ऐसे में प्याऊ लोगों के लिए पेयजल का सहारा बन सकती है लेकिन इसके नलों से पानी की एक बूंद तक नहीं टपक रही। पानी पीने के लिए लोग प्याऊ तक आते हैं लेकिन लौट जाते है। आसपास के दुकानदारों का कहना है प्याऊ सालों से बंद है और इसमें मंदिर समिति का सामान भरा है। बैठक में हो चुका निर्णय: प्याऊ चालू करने को लेकर मंदिर समिति की बैठक में सर्वानुमति से निर्णय हो चुका है। तहसीलदार अनिल भाना की अध्यक्षता में हुई बैठक में पुजारियों व सदस्यों ने प्याऊ चालू करने की मांग की थी। इस पर तहसीलदार ने मंदिर प्रबंधक को शीघ्र प्याऊ शुरू करने के निर्देश दिए थे इसके बावजूद प्याऊ चालू नहीं की सकी। पुजारी संचालन के लिए तैयार: संचालन के लिए पुजारियों ने सहमति दी है। हरसिद्धि मंदिर के पुजारी राजूगुरु गोस्वामी ने कहा कई बार मंदिर प्रबंधक से प्याऊ चालू करने के लिए कहा लेकिन ध्यान नहीं दिया। प्याऊ चालू कर दी जाती है तो इसमें यजमानों के सहयोग से वाटर कूलर लगा सकते है। सहयोग नहीं मिलता लोगों का सहयोग नहीं मिलने से कुछ वर्ष पहले प्याऊ बंद की थी, पानी भरने में भी परेशानी आती है। मंदिर के अंदर वाटर कूलर लगा होने से लोग वहीं से पानी पीते हैं। अवधेश जोशी, प्रबंधक हरसिद्धि मंदिर
Gadkari’s River-Link idea sparks Punjab Row (Asian Age 15 May 2010)
Having alread offended political veteran Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav, Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari has now drawn the ire most Punjabi politicians in suggesting the nationalisation of water resources through river-linking and the inclusion of irrigation in the concurrent list instead of the state list.
Leading the indignant pack is the Punjab Congress Party which dubbed Mr
Gadkari's suggestion "nothing but a direct attack on the riparian rights of Punjab"
Party spokesman Sukhpa Khaira said, "Punjab witnessed a bloody history over sharing of river waters tha led to militancy in the state and consumed over 25,000 innocent lives. It is shocking that a president of a nationa party that too the alliance partner of the Akali Dal is unaware of the ramifications of such a statement."
But then the BJP chief's words have caused considerable consternation within the ruling Shiromani Akal Dal also. Though maintaining a public silence on the sensitive matter, senior part leaders are aghast that Mr something so completely contrary to the SAD’s position on river waters which was also distinctly spelled out in the party’s 2007 election manifesto.
Notably, at his Meet the Press programme in Chandigarh on Thursday, Mr Gadkari had said he would discuss the issue with SAD leaders, including chief minister Parkash Singh Badal.
“Unless there is cooperation between parties wastage of water cannot be stopped,” he had stated responding to queries on the PunjabHaryana water dispute.
While the Akalis are yet to formulate their response, the separatist Dal Khalsa has been prompt.
The group's convenor, Mr Kanwarpal Singh, said, "This is noting short of a terrorist conspiracy jointly hatched by the RSS and the BJP to snatch the Punjabi peoples' precious riparian resources. The Akalis are co-conspirators who have always kept their petty political interests above those of Punjab." He said, "Punjabis are essentially farmers and extremely sensitive about their water resources. We have already sacrificed thousands of lives to protect our rivers in the past and will not hesitate in the future.” Punjab’s ruling coalition, which was party to a Congress-led legislation in July 2004 abrogating all previous water sharing agreements and has been vehemently opposed to the completion of the Sutlej-Yamuna link canal to carry additional water to Haryana, will find it very tough to wriggle out of the spot that Mr Gadkari has created for them.
Leading the indignant pack is the Punjab Congress Party which dubbed Mr
Gadkari's suggestion "nothing but a direct attack on the riparian rights of Punjab"
Party spokesman Sukhpa Khaira said, "Punjab witnessed a bloody history over sharing of river waters tha led to militancy in the state and consumed over 25,000 innocent lives. It is shocking that a president of a nationa party that too the alliance partner of the Akali Dal is unaware of the ramifications of such a statement."
But then the BJP chief's words have caused considerable consternation within the ruling Shiromani Akal Dal also. Though maintaining a public silence on the sensitive matter, senior part leaders are aghast that Mr something so completely contrary to the SAD’s position on river waters which was also distinctly spelled out in the party’s 2007 election manifesto.
Notably, at his Meet the Press programme in Chandigarh on Thursday, Mr Gadkari had said he would discuss the issue with SAD leaders, including chief minister Parkash Singh Badal.
“Unless there is cooperation between parties wastage of water cannot be stopped,” he had stated responding to queries on the PunjabHaryana water dispute.
While the Akalis are yet to formulate their response, the separatist Dal Khalsa has been prompt.
The group's convenor, Mr Kanwarpal Singh, said, "This is noting short of a terrorist conspiracy jointly hatched by the RSS and the BJP to snatch the Punjabi peoples' precious riparian resources. The Akalis are co-conspirators who have always kept their petty political interests above those of Punjab." He said, "Punjabis are essentially farmers and extremely sensitive about their water resources. We have already sacrificed thousands of lives to protect our rivers in the past and will not hesitate in the future.” Punjab’s ruling coalition, which was party to a Congress-led legislation in July 2004 abrogating all previous water sharing agreements and has been vehemently opposed to the completion of the Sutlej-Yamuna link canal to carry additional water to Haryana, will find it very tough to wriggle out of the spot that Mr Gadkari has created for them.
Jal Board plans a census with a difference (Hindu 19 May 2010)
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Jal Board will soon be conducting a census of a different kind. Instead of asking personal information, officials will quiz residents about the services offered to them by the water utility.
The Jal Board wants to put an end to speculation over the quality and availability of its services by collating the exact details of water supply, drainage, sewerage and solid waste management from about 36 lakh households in the city.
In the coming months, the Jal Board will hire four agencies to go door-to-door asking residents about the services — their quality and their availability.
“As of now there is no de-centralised, accurate data on how many areas have sewerage, drainage facilities, what is the quality of water received and the duration of its supply. This exercise will help us know the exact details of each ward,” said Jal Board Additional Chief Executive Officer Santosh D. Vaidya.
The data mapping the entire city, including the Capital's unauthorised areas and residential colonies, will prove useful in maintaining and upgrading the services. “The data will be of great use to four agencies: the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the New Delhi Municipal Council, the Cantonment Board and the Delhi Jal Board. The information will help us identify the exact deficiencies in each ward and improve the quality of the services,” said Mr. Vaidya.
The protracted exercise that has been allotted Rs.8.50 lakh under the Central Government's Information Systems Programme will take up to a year from start to finish. According to Mr. Vaidya, it will take about seven months for enumeration and another three to four months for collation, analysis and report submission: “That is the time frame that has been sanctioned by the Central Government.”
The residents will be asked to furnish details on all four services based on 22 parameters. “A questionnaire is currently being readied and the agencies will ask the residents details on all aspects of the services. They will be asked about the supply hours of water, whether the water they receive is contaminated and the condition of the sewers system,” said Mr. Vaidya.
The Jal Board is also trying to work out the logistics to make the whole exercise paperless.
“We are working out the financial details of how to make it paperless. We are considering use of hand held devices to take down the details,” he added.
The Jal Board wants to put an end to speculation over the quality and availability of its services by collating the exact details of water supply, drainage, sewerage and solid waste management from about 36 lakh households in the city.
In the coming months, the Jal Board will hire four agencies to go door-to-door asking residents about the services — their quality and their availability.
“As of now there is no de-centralised, accurate data on how many areas have sewerage, drainage facilities, what is the quality of water received and the duration of its supply. This exercise will help us know the exact details of each ward,” said Jal Board Additional Chief Executive Officer Santosh D. Vaidya.
The data mapping the entire city, including the Capital's unauthorised areas and residential colonies, will prove useful in maintaining and upgrading the services. “The data will be of great use to four agencies: the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the New Delhi Municipal Council, the Cantonment Board and the Delhi Jal Board. The information will help us identify the exact deficiencies in each ward and improve the quality of the services,” said Mr. Vaidya.
The protracted exercise that has been allotted Rs.8.50 lakh under the Central Government's Information Systems Programme will take up to a year from start to finish. According to Mr. Vaidya, it will take about seven months for enumeration and another three to four months for collation, analysis and report submission: “That is the time frame that has been sanctioned by the Central Government.”
The residents will be asked to furnish details on all four services based on 22 parameters. “A questionnaire is currently being readied and the agencies will ask the residents details on all aspects of the services. They will be asked about the supply hours of water, whether the water they receive is contaminated and the condition of the sewers system,” said Mr. Vaidya.
The Jal Board is also trying to work out the logistics to make the whole exercise paperless.
“We are working out the financial details of how to make it paperless. We are considering use of hand held devices to take down the details,” he added.
Campaign to clean Ganga launched (Hindu 19 May 2010)
DEHRA DUN: Senior BJP leader L. K. Advani kicked off the “Nirmal Ganga-Sparsh Ganga” campaign aimed at de-polluting the river at Gangotri on Monday. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti was also present along with former Uttarakhand Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri and other senior BJP leaders of the State.
“Ganga is not only holy but also the lifeline of the subcontinent and it should be the endeavour of all to restore it to its lost glory,” Mr. Advani said applauding Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank' s efforts to mobilise the masses to lend a helping hand in cleaning the Ganga.
The campaign includes steps to check throwing of plastics into the river, converting bio-degradable waste into manure and reprocessing the non-degradable waste along the river stretch, checking the drains from carrying dirt into the Ganga and creating awareness on the importance of rivers, Mr. Nishank said.
Ms. Uma Bharti wanted the campaign to develop into a people's movement as that alone could save the Ganga for future generations.
“Ganga is not only holy but also the lifeline of the subcontinent and it should be the endeavour of all to restore it to its lost glory,” Mr. Advani said applauding Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank' s efforts to mobilise the masses to lend a helping hand in cleaning the Ganga.
The campaign includes steps to check throwing of plastics into the river, converting bio-degradable waste into manure and reprocessing the non-degradable waste along the river stretch, checking the drains from carrying dirt into the Ganga and creating awareness on the importance of rivers, Mr. Nishank said.
Ms. Uma Bharti wanted the campaign to develop into a people's movement as that alone could save the Ganga for future generations.
Maheshwar Dam: ball back in Ministry's court (Hindu 18 May 2010)
NEW DELHI: The suspension of construction in the controversial Maheshwar hydel power project is back in the court of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), after a meeting convened by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Monday.
Last week, after a similar meeting, under pressure from the PMO and the Madhya Pradesh government, the MoEF modified its suspension order, allowing a partial resumption of construction citing safety concerns.
However, after Monday's meeting, MoEF officials say that the PMO clearly indicated that there was no question of the work being allowed to continue until relief and rehabilitation (R&R) was done.
“The PMO put the ball back in our court,” a senior MoEF official said. “[The PMO] now says the MoEF and the Madhya Pradesh government should take the issue forward.”
While more than 80 per cent of the dam's construction is complete and submergence is expected in November, barely five per cent of R&R work for the 60,000 oustees has been completed.
The dam is being built in Madhya Pradesh by the private S. Kumar's group, but the State government has offered strong support in fighting the MoEF's suspension order issued in April.
The PMO intervened after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan made a personal representation to Prime Manmohan Singh on the issue. At Monday's meeting, State officials quoted an order of the Jabalpur High court in July 2009 saying that work could continue. However, MoEF officials say they have followed the Environment Protection Act, 1986
Last week, after a similar meeting, under pressure from the PMO and the Madhya Pradesh government, the MoEF modified its suspension order, allowing a partial resumption of construction citing safety concerns.
However, after Monday's meeting, MoEF officials say that the PMO clearly indicated that there was no question of the work being allowed to continue until relief and rehabilitation (R&R) was done.
“The PMO put the ball back in our court,” a senior MoEF official said. “[The PMO] now says the MoEF and the Madhya Pradesh government should take the issue forward.”
While more than 80 per cent of the dam's construction is complete and submergence is expected in November, barely five per cent of R&R work for the 60,000 oustees has been completed.
The dam is being built in Madhya Pradesh by the private S. Kumar's group, but the State government has offered strong support in fighting the MoEF's suspension order issued in April.
The PMO intervened after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan made a personal representation to Prime Manmohan Singh on the issue. At Monday's meeting, State officials quoted an order of the Jabalpur High court in July 2009 saying that work could continue. However, MoEF officials say they have followed the Environment Protection Act, 1986
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
दूषित पेयजल आपूर्ति से लोग परेशान (Dainik Jagran 02 June 2010)
मुरादनगर, संस : डिफेंस कालोनी में टंकी के पानी में छोटे-छोटे कीड़े निकलने के कारण कालोनी के लोग दूषित पेयजल पीने को मजबूर हैं। सभासदों ने दूषित पेयजल आपूर्ति पर लोगों में बीमारियां होने का अंदेशा व्यक्त किया है।
न्यू डिफेंस कालोनी निवासी सतीश कुमार का कहना है कि नगरपालिका परिषद की पानी टंकी के पानी में छोटे-छोटे कीड़े निकल रहे है। उन्होंने कहा कि दूषित पेयजल आपूर्ति से लोगों में संक्रामक रोग फैलने की संभावनाएं हैं। कालोनी निवासी जवाहर सिंह सुभाष चंद का कहना है कि पिछले काफी समय से दूषित पेयजल आपूर्ति की शिकायत रहती थी लेकिन जलकल विभाग ने इस और कोई ठोस कदम नहीं उठाया। उन्होंने कहा कि दूषित पेयजल आपूर्ति से कालोनी के लोगों में पेट रोग, पीलिया व उल्टी दस्त की बीमारियां बढ़ रही हैं।
कालोनी वासियों की शिकायत पर क्षेत्र के सभासद आनंदवीर त्यागी, आदेश त्यागी ने पीने के पानी में कीड़े देख नाराजगी व्यक्त की है तथा जलकल विभाग से कार्यवाही करने को कहा है। सभासद ने कहा कि दूषित पेयजल आपूर्ति की शिकायत जिलाधिकारी आर. रमेश कुमार से की जाएगी। सभासदों ने आरोप लगाया कि लोगों को शिकायतों पर संबंधित अधिकारी कोई ध्यान नहीं देते है। जिस कारण कभी भी कोई दुर्घटना हो सकती है।
नगर पालिका परिषद के अधिशासी अधिकारी शमीम अहमद का कहना है कि पानी की टंकी में क्लोरीन मिलाकर शुद्ध पेयजल की आपूर्ति की जाती है। उन्होंने कहा कि जल निगम द्वारा बिछाई गई पाइप लाइन का पीवीसी पाइप टूट जाने के कारण पेयजल आपूर्ति में गंदा पानी आने की संभावना से इंकार नहीं किया जा सकता है। श्री अहमद ने कालोनी के लोगों की शिकायत मिलते ही डिफेंस कालोनी की पाइप लाइन की जांच कराकर उसे ठीक कराकर शुद्ध पेयजल आपूर्ति शुरू करा दी है। अधिशासी अधिकारी का कहना है कि गर्मी के मौसम में पानी की टंकी में क्लोरीन डालने के बाद ही पेयजल आपूर्ति की जाती है।
न्यू डिफेंस कालोनी निवासी सतीश कुमार का कहना है कि नगरपालिका परिषद की पानी टंकी के पानी में छोटे-छोटे कीड़े निकल रहे है। उन्होंने कहा कि दूषित पेयजल आपूर्ति से लोगों में संक्रामक रोग फैलने की संभावनाएं हैं। कालोनी निवासी जवाहर सिंह सुभाष चंद का कहना है कि पिछले काफी समय से दूषित पेयजल आपूर्ति की शिकायत रहती थी लेकिन जलकल विभाग ने इस और कोई ठोस कदम नहीं उठाया। उन्होंने कहा कि दूषित पेयजल आपूर्ति से कालोनी के लोगों में पेट रोग, पीलिया व उल्टी दस्त की बीमारियां बढ़ रही हैं।
कालोनी वासियों की शिकायत पर क्षेत्र के सभासद आनंदवीर त्यागी, आदेश त्यागी ने पीने के पानी में कीड़े देख नाराजगी व्यक्त की है तथा जलकल विभाग से कार्यवाही करने को कहा है। सभासद ने कहा कि दूषित पेयजल आपूर्ति की शिकायत जिलाधिकारी आर. रमेश कुमार से की जाएगी। सभासदों ने आरोप लगाया कि लोगों को शिकायतों पर संबंधित अधिकारी कोई ध्यान नहीं देते है। जिस कारण कभी भी कोई दुर्घटना हो सकती है।
नगर पालिका परिषद के अधिशासी अधिकारी शमीम अहमद का कहना है कि पानी की टंकी में क्लोरीन मिलाकर शुद्ध पेयजल की आपूर्ति की जाती है। उन्होंने कहा कि जल निगम द्वारा बिछाई गई पाइप लाइन का पीवीसी पाइप टूट जाने के कारण पेयजल आपूर्ति में गंदा पानी आने की संभावना से इंकार नहीं किया जा सकता है। श्री अहमद ने कालोनी के लोगों की शिकायत मिलते ही डिफेंस कालोनी की पाइप लाइन की जांच कराकर उसे ठीक कराकर शुद्ध पेयजल आपूर्ति शुरू करा दी है। अधिशासी अधिकारी का कहना है कि गर्मी के मौसम में पानी की टंकी में क्लोरीन डालने के बाद ही पेयजल आपूर्ति की जाती है।
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