Think India Foundation

Karnatak region expects more aid from new govt

Chennai/ Dharwad : With the Congress forming the new government headed by Siddramaiah in Karnataka, the people in North Karnataka are hoping that several issues haunting the region would be resolved.

The project of diverting the water from Kalasa and Banduri streams to Malaprabha to solve the problem of drinking water is a key issue the people expect to be solved. The Goan government has put a hurdle to the implementation of the Kalasa Banduri Nala project by approaching the Supreme Court saying that the project would be detrimental to the interest of Goa. Read more

Source : www.business-standard.com

No power backup at Huda water supply plant

Gurgaon : At a time when water scarcity is a burning issue in the city, the lone water supply plant of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda), located at the fag end of Basai, does not even have power backup. With power disruptions being a perennial problem in these parts, the plant cannot supply water even hours after a power cut.

As a result, the residents of old Gurgaon have been reeling under severe water crisis for the past three weeks and the residents of DLF City are likely to stage a protest on Monday. “We have been purchasing water from private suppliers for the past two weeks. The DLF management says that Huda has not supplied water which has virtually led to the scarcity,” said Joginder Singh, a resident of DLF Phase-III, the locality hit worst by the scarcity. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

Managing Indian cities

The Indian Institute for Human Settlements(IIHS) is accepting applications for its 'Programme for Working Professionals in Urban Development (PWP-UD )' scheduled to run from September 2013 to August 2014. The PWP-UD is an, inter-disciplinary , practice-based programme that allows participants to build upon their existing backgrounds to specialise in urban practice. 

Taught by a diverse faculty of leading academics and practitioners, it is designed to focus on applied learning and skill-development necessary for finding effective, sustainable and integrated solutions to problems facing Indian cities. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Mumbai takes the lead in green housing projects

Mumbai : Quicker govt clearance is drawing more developers to plan environment-friendly buildings.

More green residences are coming up in Mumbai over the past couple of years  since the state has made it easier for these projects; higher costs may not be an issue much longer. 

According to experts with the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), of the 2 billion square feet of green construction projects across the country, a quarter are registered in Mumbai. Read more

Source : www.dnaindia.com

Haryana releases water for Delhi

CHANDIGARH: Haryana has bailed out Delhi from the impending water crisis by releasing 240 cusecs of water from Munak and Tajewala dams.

Officials said 85 cusecs water was released on Friday evening and 160 cusecs on Saturday. More water is expected to be released to New Delhi on Sunday and Monday as well, officials in irrigation department said. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Water crisis deepens in South Kanpur localities

KANPUR: Residents of Barra -2 locality in Kanpur South on Saturday performed prayers at uprooted handpumps on water works premises in protest against erratic water supply in the area. The residents prayed that these handpumps would be repaired and re-installed in the area.

Kanpur South is in grip of acute water crisis. Water to the area is supplied by Gujaini water works and handpumps. Overhead water tanks have failed to meet needs of the area owing to frequent power cuts and unscheduled rostering. Even Gujaini water works is not functioning to its capacity. Against the demand of five crore litres, the water works is supplying merely three crore litres of water on daily basis. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Huda ropes in NGO to address water shortage

Gurgaon : With water shortage worsening with each passing day in the Millennium City, the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) has roped in an NGO to find a permanent solution.

At present  the city is struggling to meet water shortage, fast depletion of groundwater level and conventional mode of sewage treatment. The authority is all set to tie up with the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi-based research organisation, which lobbies for and communicates the urgency of sustainable and equitable development. A crucial meeting between Huda officials and CSE executives was held on Saturday. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

Taps dry as water project fails in Koraput

KORAPUT: Two years ago, residents of Girliguda in Koraput's Kundra block had hoped to receive regular supply of hygienic drinking water as a Rs 19 lakh rural piped water supply project was inaugurated in the village.

But the euphoria over the project was short-lived. The villagers received water only for only a few weeks . Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Madurai civic body looks towards Cauvery for future needs

MADURAI: The city corporation council has passed a resolution to sanction works on the detailed project report (DPR) for the Cauvery drinking water scheme considering the future drinking water needs of the city.

The resolution stated that the population of the city is expected to increase from 15 lakh at present, to 30 lakh within 30 years. As per the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO) guidelines, 135 litres per person per day has to be provided and the corporation needs 203 mld and calculating the population boom, the city may need 405 mld in future. To cater to the present drinking water needs, the civic body has 115 mld from the Vaigai drinking water scheme, while another 12 mld is expected from the Cauvery drinking water scheme which is under process. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

CM Siddaramaiah steps in to avert water crisis

BANGALORE: With an unprecedented water crisis staring Bangalore in the face, chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday directed the irrigation and water resources department to ensure that adequate water is released to KRS so that the city gets its due drinking water supply. 

The directive came after the CM went into a huddle with BWSSB chief Gaurav Gupta and other top officials. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Water crisis in Delhi as UP fixes breach in upper Ganga canal

NEW DELHI: Various areas in East and South Delhi today faced water shortage as Uttar Pradesh cut raw water supply to the city from the upper Ganga canal to fix a breach.

BJP activists carry earthen pots as they shout anti-Delhi Cong govt slogans during a protest in front of the Secretariat in New Delhi.

Concerned over cut in water supply due to the breach in Upper Ganga canal, the Delhi government has requested Union water resources ministry and Uttar Pradesh to fix the problem at the earliest. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Drought dominates grievance day meet

KARUR : ‘Seek release of 10,000 cusecs of Cauvery water’

District Collector S. Jayandhi chairing the farmers grievances' meeting in Karur on Thursday.

Scarcity of drinking water in Karur district found echo in the farmers grievances day meet held here on Thursday with the participants urging Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to seek release of at least 10,000 cusecs of the Cauvery water from Karnataka. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

Centre banned commercial borewells in city, state overturned it quietly

The central government's ground water authority had issued a major order in November 2012, banning digging of commercial borewells. When the baton passed to the state authority this April, everything broke.

Manipal ETA Infotech SEZ coming up in Agara. Massive projects like these, need millions of litres of water daily. Pic: Navya P K

While water-strapped Bengaluru is waiting for the mercy of rain gods to bless the Cauvery belt to quench its thirst, water mafia is busy drawing water from just about anywhere: their own bore wells, bore wells of others, lakes and water bodies - wherever one can see water.  As this article goes into publication, the city water board has just announced that Cauvery water supply for Bengaluru will stop in four days. Read more

Source : bangalore.citizenmatters.in

Pipe work stuck, Gurgaon city stares at water crisis

Gurgaon : The threat of water scarcity looms large over many areas in New Gurgaon areas this summer too, thanks to the negligence of the Haryana Urban Development Authority’s (Huda) engineering wing.

The engineering wing has not yet completed the water pipeline-laying work between the boosting station in Sector 16 and Rajiv Chowk. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

ADB sanctions $110 mn loan for urban infrastructure in Jammu, Srinagar

New Delhi : Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Government of India today signed an agreement for a $110 million loan to improve the urban services, including water supply, in two capital cities of Jammu and Kashmir.

More than two million people in Srinagar and Jammu will benefit from improved access to water supply, functional drainage systems, and better road facilities. Read more

Source : www.greaterkashmir.com

Water from Hemavathy reservoir brings respite to Mysoreans

MYSORE: Water from Hemvathy reservoir to Krishnarajasagar Dam has brought brief respite from water the crisis.

Residents in parts of Mysore affected by water crisis have started to get water but the situation is likely to aggravate after few days as supply has been stopped from Hemavathy. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Few takers for govt panel report on HEPs

VARANASI: Noted environmental scientist of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) expert Prof BD Tripathi has outrightly rejected inter-ministerial group recommendation of re-engineering hydro electric projects to maintain 30-50% water flow during the lean period of December-March. The group was headed by Planning Commission member B K Chaturvedi. 

"It is not a question of merely maintaining Ganga's water flow. The quality and character of water flowing in the river is equally important," said Prof Tripathi. Rejecting Chaturvedi panel's report he said it was not in the interest of Ganga and described it as a "sarkari report" prepared to suit the government. Several environmentalists, including director general of Centre for Science and Environment Sunita Narain and Tarun Bharat Sangh chief 'Waterman' Rajendra Singh have already objected to the report. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Desalination plant planned near Gopalpur

BERHAMPUR: A desalination plant that will convert sea water into potable one is being planned near Gopalpur in Ganjam district. The Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) has decided to install a 5-million litre per day (mld) capacity plant to meet the industrial and potable drinking water requirements for its Odisha Sands Complex (OSCOM) at Matikhala near Chhatrapur.

The Rs 112.90-crore project is scheduled to be completed by March 31, 2019, the Union minister of state for personnel, public grievances, pensions and prime minister's office V Narayanasamy told Rajya Sabha member Renubala Pradhan in a reply recently. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

New water supply network for Pandesara Industries to be set up

SURAT: Tender scrutiny committee (TSC) of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) approved the proposals to set up water distribution network for providing potable and treated water to industrial houses of Pandesara.

For providing drinking water to these industrial houses , a new network of pipelines would be set up that will cost SMC Rs 6.25 crore . It will also set up separate network for providing treated water from Bamroli Tertiary treatment plant that is likely to start functioning in coming six months. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

All eyes on government to solve sewage problem

NAGPUR: The cash-strapped Nagpur municipal corporation (NMC) is helpless in stopping the flow of sewage into the river or ensuring its treatment. However, since managing sewage is necessary to ensure the Nag River remains a clean water body, all eyes are on two projects pending with the central government for clearance. Mayor Anil Sole and municipal commissioner Shyam Wardhane are hoping for total rejuvenation of the river within two years if gets the projects are approved.

Sole told TOI the quantity of sewage flowing in the river is huge. "Over 450 million litres per day (MLD) sewage is flowing through the entire city every day. NMC is operating 80 MLD sewage treatment plant and started construction of 130 MLD plant at Bhandewadi. We need to construct sewage pipelines for safe collection and carriage of sewage to the treatment plants, and have capacity to treat entire quantity. Two projects have been submitted to the government and approval is awaited," he said. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Japan can help India in waste water management

Tokyo (ANI): A growing population combined with a huge demand of water for development purposes, has put excessive stress on available water resources in India.

From 813 billion cubic metres in 2010 the demand of water is set to reach 1,093 billion cubic metres by 2025 in the country. Read more

Source : www.newstrackindia.com

Plan to Revive Mythical River Dries Up

A project, spearheaded by India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corpo ration, to make water flow in the Saraswati, a sacred river that dried up around 4,000 years ago, has stalled and prospects of getting it moving again appear bleak.

A Hindu devotee prayed as he stood in the waters of Sangam, the confluence of the Yamuna, River Ganges and the mythical Saraswati rivers at the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, Feb. 10.

ONGC, a state run oil company, began drilling in 2005 near Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, in order to revive the river with the hope of eventually bringing a new water source to parts of Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Read more

Source : stream.wsj.com

Ensure proper supply to Mysore: Water board MD

MYSORE : In view of water crisis in Mysore city, Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWSDB) Managing Director Gaurav Gupta visited the Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) on Sunday. He directed the Irrigation Department authorities to shut the reverse sluice gates so as to ensure water supply through Devaraya Canal to Mysore city.

Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWSDB) Managing Director Gaurav Gupta, Mysore DC C Shikha and Mandya DC Ajay Nagabushan inspecting water level at KRS Dam on Sunday | Express Photo

Gupta accompanied by Mandya Deputy Commissioner Ajay Nagabhushan, Mysore DC and Mysore City Corporation administrative officer C Shikha and KUWSDB engineers visited the pump houses that are supplying water to Mysore city to assess the situation. Read more

Source : newindianexpress.com

Reliance Power Solar-Thermal Plant Stalled by Water Delay

A Reliance Power Ltd. (RPWR) solar-thermal plant should start up next month after missing a May deadline because Indian authorities failed to lay a water pipeline to the site in time, Chief Executive Officer Jayaram P. Chalasani said.

The 100-megawatt project “is ready to go” as soon as the water arrives, Chalasani told reporters today in Mumbai. The Rajasthan state government is completing the pipeline and the plant should begin generating after testing, he said. Read more

Source : www.bloomberg.com

100 MLD water for Kochi by December: Oommen Chandy

Kochi: Kochi city will get an additional 100 MLD water by December 31 which would go a long way in tackling the current crisis, said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

Oommen Chandy.

“The work of the JNNURM water supply sch­eme from Piravom would be hastened and for this, an additional Rs 23 cr will be allotted soon. All the disputes raised by the local people of Piravom have been settled”, he said. Apart from this, work on a HUDCO-funded scheme to provide 6 MLD water to Palluruthy area would also begin soon. Read more

Source : www.deccanchronicle.com

Land litigation wreaks havoc on Water Board

HYDERABAD: Improvement of water distribution network and implementation of sewerage master plan in the Rajendranagar circle of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation seems to be a distant dream for locals. 

The Rs 314 crore mega project was taken up by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission a few years ago. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Authority to regulate and control water uses coming

NEW DELHI : National Bureau of Water Use Efficiency will focus on irrigation, drinking water supply

The Centre will establish a National Bureau of Water Use Efficiency as an “authority” for “promotion, regulation and control of efficient use of water in irrigation, municipal and industrial uses.” Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

Water from new Pench plant only after summer

NAGPUR: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation(NMC) was supposed to supply an additional quantity of 115 million litres per day (MLD) water to the city from its new Pench-IV water treatment plant (WTP) from the summer of 2011. When this time frame could not be met, the new deadline was set at March 2013. However, the plant is not complete and may commission only after July. Water crisis prevailing in many parts of the city might have been solved to some extent had the plant commissioned before summer.

NESL director Sudhakar Kohle said delay was due to various issues. "The project was executed in four instalments and delayed due to problems of land acquisition and permissions from various government departments, especially forest etc. Water situation during the summer would have been totally different had the plant brought into operation. But efforts are on to commission the plant soon," he said. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Hudco slashes lending rates

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (Hudco) effected a significant reduction in its lending rates for government and public sector borrowers for various housing and infrastructure development projects. A reduction of 25 basis points has been effected in respect of its entire housing portfolio covering economically weaker sections, low income groups, middle income groups and all other categories of housing. With this reduction, the EWS and LIG category housing projects would get loans from Hudco at 8 per cent to 8.5 per cent. The reduction also includes land acquisition for housing purposes.

The interest rates have been reduced for core infrastructure projects also covering water supply, sewerage, drainage, solid waste management, urban/city roads and social infrastructure. Read more

Source : newindianexpress.com

Osmanabad to get water from Ujani dam

MUMBAI : The Maharashtra government on Saturday launched an ambitious water supply scheme in Osmanabad district — one of the worst affected areas in drought-ravaged Marathwada.

Inaugurated by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, the project envisages transporting water from the Ujani dam on the Bhima to Osmanabad over a distance of 114 km. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

Nod for supplying untreated water to flats,restaurants in Kochi

KOCHI: The district administration will soon permit water tanker owners to supply untreated water to restaurants and apartments having proper treatment facilities.

The move is aimed at redressing the city's water crisis. "Separate permits will be issued to tanker owners soon to supply untreated water. However, they will be allowed to supply water only to those apartments that have water treatment facilities. Permission will also be given to tankers to draw water from the Periyar river," said district collector P I Sheik Pareeth. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Siddaramaiah's first task is a thorough cleansing of administration

BANGALORE : My post is not a bed of roses, says the Chief Minister-designate

Ever since it was announced that Siddaramaiah would be Chief Minister, there has been a steady stream of supporters and well-wishers at his house in Bangalore. Photo: K. Gopinathan

Chief Minister-designate Siddaramaiah, who will be sworn in on Monday at the Kanteerava Stadium, says his first task would be a “thorough cleansing” of the administration by taking the bureaucracy into confidence and speedy implementation of development programmes. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

DJB takes steps to stem water crisis

NEW DELHI: In the absence of additional water from the Munak canal, Delhi Jal Board has put in place several measures to ensure that water distribution is not affected this summer when demand is expected to rise.

The water utility will try and ensure an average production of 835 million gallons per day of water during the summer months. The water will be supplied to various areas through a network of 87 underground reservoirs. Officials said that about 200 km of old pipelines have been replaced while 333 major leak points were repaired in the last year. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Andhra Pradesh's biggest hospital faces water crisis

HYDERABAD: Osmania General Hospital, the biggest state-run institute, is receiving just 10% of its daily requirement of around 3 lakh litres of water and is struggling to meet its water needs, officials said.

Patients and doctors have been hugely inconvenienced as sterilization of instruments, cleaning of operation theatres is being compromised, exposing patients to more infection, doctors said. Also, water shortage also increases the use of disposables, thereby increasing the hospital expenditure. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

US varsity invite for UP minister

Lucknow : 

Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Minister Shiv Pal Singh Yadav has been invited by the US' John Hopkins University to share his experiences on flood control and expediting a water sector restructuring project in his state, an official said Thursday.

The invitation comes weeks after Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav cancelled his lecture at the Harvard Business School to protest the "extended frisking" of Urban Development Minister Azam Khan at a Boston airport. Read more

Source : www.business-standard.com

Huda initiative to tackle water problem

Gurgaon : For the residents of Sectors 3, 5 and 6, this summer will not be as difficult as the ones before. The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) has replaced the 60 KW transformer with a 200 KW one. This will enable efficient functioning of the motors installed at the station and boost water supply till the end of the Sectors 3, 5 and 6.

Says Gyan Sharma, junior engineer, HUDA, "Due to short supply of electricity, the motor couldn't function efficiently here. Now we have installed a transformer costing Rs. 3.5 lakh. However, the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) is yet to release the connection to the transformer. It can be made functional only after the connection." Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

NGO comes up with alternative to interlinking of rivers

New Delhi: Amid growing environmental concerns over the river linking project, an NGO has come up with an "eco-friendly" method to connect the water bodies with grids so that states can share the resources according to their requirements.

"Interlinking of Rivers project (ILR) is not viable in its present form. We have, therefore, come up with a new proposal - National Waterways Project (NWP)," said A C Kamaraj, expert committee member of ILR panel in the present governemnt and Nawad Tech Chairman. Read more

Source : zeenews.india.com

IWT discriminatory against J&K: Taj

‘Pakistan major beneficiary of the treaty’

Srinagar : Senior Congress leader and Minister for Medical Education Taj Mohiudin Wednesday said Pakistan was the major beneficiary of 1960 Indus Water Treaty as Government of India or the State of Jammu and Kashmir can’t stop the water of rivers flowing to the neighboring country. Taj ruled out water war between India and Pakistan, stating that no project in J&K violates the treaty.

The former PHE and Irrigation Minister of J&K has given a detailed description of the fallout of IWT in his achievement report titled- Yes We Can - a slogan copied from US President Barack Obama.  The 114-page report highlights the achievements of Taj’s four year stint as PHE and Irrigation minister. He has claimed credit for 112 projects, some of them major and also tried to clear doubts about IWT. Read more

Source : www.greaterkashmir.com

Official backs consultant complaint on pipeline tapping in Nagpur

NAGPUR: The officials of Nagpur Environmental Services Ltd (NESL) and private water operator Orange City Water ltd (OCWL) have much to worry about. NMC's pench project cell has confirmed the complaint by 24x7 water supply project consultant about Kanhan main pipeline being directly tapped.

It has also come to fore that the increased water supply from Kanhan treatment plant is also being diverted to South Nagpur. This may be the main reason why rise in water supply did not do anything to solve water crisis in East and North Nagpur. NESL executive director Aziz-ur Rehman was to submit a detailed report on direct tapping of Kanhan main pipeline without consulting DRA Consultants Private Limited, design consultant of pench project and project management consultant of 24x7 water supply scheme, and municipal commissioner Shyam Wardhane. The consultant had warned that the action would change the hydraulics and affect water supply to 15 overhead tanks. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Incentivise relocation of water-guzzling plants

Water is back in the news. It's drought time in Maharashtra. Some legislators have even begun demanding water supply cuts for industry and residences.

In Delhi, there is a clamour for privatisation of water supply. Somehow, India’s policymakers appear to have forgotten that this was how an attempt was made to privatise power supply as well, giving rise to Enron’s entry into India with sovereign guarantees. Without a public utility omnibus law protecting citizen’s interests – as in the US – it’s dangerous to privatise any public utility. Read more

Source : www.dnaindia.com

Water crisis: Eateries leave citizens hungry in Kochi

KOCHI: Lunch was not a very sumptuous affair for employees and the public in general who depend on city eateries on Tuesday. In fact, many had no choice at all as a majority of restaurants in the city downed their shutters due to water shortage.

Around 60% of the 1,800 restaurants, including small and medium ones, remained closed till 3 pm. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Not a drop to drink at Bokaro collectorate

BOKARO: The district collectorate building, which houses over two dozen offices, is facing severe water crisis at a time when mercury has soared to 44° Celsius.

Most of the over 150 staff use water from washrooms or buy it from outside to quench their thirst. Visitors too are offered this water for drinking. Even the water used to prepare tea for the officials, staff and guests during office hours is taken from washrooms. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Demand for water tankers likely to go up

PUNE: Divisional commissioner Prabhakar Deshmukh on Monday said that parts of Pune, Satara, Solapur and Sangli districts were facing severe drinking water crisis and the situation was likely to worsen in the next few days. It would send the demand for water tankers soaring, he added.

About 37 talukas in the four districts have been declared drought-hit, whereas about 2,500 villages are facing water crises. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Water project at Ludhiana awaits approval

LUDHIANA: The municipal corporation has submitted the revised project proposal of Rs 290 crore to upgrade water supply in the city to the Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), for approval. The project will not only provide water to peripheral areas but also to areas in the old city. 

Water supply pipelines in the old city were laid more than two decades ago and they are often beset with problems of choking, breaking of pipelines and leakages. Earlier, the amount earmarked for the project was Rs 244 crore. Moreover, the old city also faces serious and chronic water shortage. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Ooty model of bio-remediation to save urban waterbodies

CHENNAI : There is a ray of hope for hundreds of urban waterbodies, victims of urbanisation and industrial pollution. A combination of bio-ozolyte treatment process and bio-remediation adopted by the State government to save the Ooty Lake, can be used to recover these polluted water bodies.

According to officials, phosphorus and nitrogen are responsible for the rapid growth of water hyacinth, that has invaded many water bodies. The bio-processes will increase the dissolved oxygen (DO), by bringing down the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). DO improves quality of water and replenishes life in water bodies. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

Despite success stories, most cities still offer a dark reality

While the majority of Indians still live in rural areas, this, too, is changing fast. From 1970 to 2010, India's urban population grew by 250 million. The next quarter-billion will be added in half that time. By 2030, 70 per cent of India's GDP will come from its cities.

But cities are simply unable to cope with the influx of migrants on the current scale. The fast-growing metropolises of India, China, Brazil, and other major emerging economies offer plenty of jobs, but basic amenities are lacking; as a result, many of the urban poor live in slums, without adequate health care, water supplies, or electricity. Read more

Source : www.timesofoman.com

Pandesara units to get blended water by October

SURAT: Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) plans to supply 100 MLD of blended water to 120 industrial units in Pandesara in another few months as its tertiary treatment plant with a 40 MLD capacity is likely to be functional by September. SMC will also set up a separate 5 MLD capacity water supply network for potable water for the industrial units. At present, SMC supplies nearly 55 MLD of water on a daily basis to these industrial units at Rs 23 per kilo litre.

Tenders for re-modification of its current water supply network were discussed and approved by the tender scrutiny committee (TSC). Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Civic apathy leaves Mayawati's dream project parched

VARANASI: Barely three years after the allotment of flats under Kanshiram Shehri Garib Awas Yojana (KSGAY), the majority of beneficiaries have started struggling to procure potable water, though overhead tanks exist in this colony. 

The KSGAY was said to be a dream project of former chief minister Mayawati. During the BSP regime, 3000 flats were built in Varanasi in two phases near the central jail premises and more than 5000 people live in these flats. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Thousands take pledge at 'mahayagna' to save water

DEVLA VILLAGE (RAJKOT): Thousands of people from 4,800 villages across the water-starved Saurashtra took pledge at a 'mahayagna', organized by Saurashtra Jaldhara Trust, near Bhadar Dam at Devla village in Gondal taluka of Rajkot district on Sunday to work for water conservation. 

"The Saurashtra Narmada Jal Avataran Jan Jagruti Mahayagna will help create awareness about water conservation, drip irrigation and unused borewells and also pressurize the state government to bring Narmada water to Saurashtra and begin the Kalpasar project at the earliest," said Saurashtra Jaldhara Trust president Mathur Savani. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India’s missing market for water

The problem that needs public attention is that of the general mismanagement of natural resources under public control

 The absence of a private market for entrepreneurs to engage in profitable commerce in providing water resources is partially responsible for their perennial scarcity Photo: Mint

The Union and state governments in India plan to collectively invest a substantive amount of about Rs.1.1 trillion ($20 billion) for sewage treatment, irrigation and recycling in the next five years, according to a recent interview that Bloomberg had with a special secretary in the ministry of water resources.

This comes against the backdrop of a severe crisis in the availability of clean water for agricultural as well as industrial purposes, stumping a number of investment projects worth billions of dollars. Notably, the scramble for clean water has often led to the brewing of intense conflict between industrialists and farmers in various parts of the country. Read more

Source : www.livemint.com