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India Sanitation and Water Updates

32005 Views 132 Replies 39 Participants Last post by  vgadityanit
We are a long way to go in this regard, so what is plan happening anywhere in the country with regard to cheaper and better solutions in front.
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The battle for water will soon be at our doorsteps if the present trend of unplanned expansions and wastage of the Precious resource ie WATER is continued.

In all the world forums, this is discussed in detail. But on the field, nothing worthwhile is being done.

Water Resources management in India is being done under the normal PWD or Water Boards of the states. These projects come under Public Health Engineering Dept for technical appraisals. It is unforunate that these departments are still following old technologies which occupies large space, pollutes the ground water and waterways and consume lot of power.

Modern technologies are approved by the funding agencies like World Bank / Asian Development Bank and they will help maintaining a better environment for our future generations.
Wow! It is sad that there is so much activity on other threads such as infrastructure projects, buildings..etc. but there is nothing on Water preservation and Waste Management.

It is good to see the growth in the economy but India should definitely focus on forest and water preservation since the demand for clean water will grow like anything. Also, India really really need to focus on waste management by creating better sewage system and recycling plants. Historically, growth has always been by burning fossil fuels in any developed nation and it will be same for India. But they should seriously focus on preservation of forest and water since scarcity can be a laggard in growth.
The Indian subcontinent, along with parts of China, is probably the region that is going to face the most severe water crisis in the world in the future. The depleting fresh water resource problem is compounded by pressures from a growing population and rapid industrialization. Water resource management and development, in my mind, should be as high on the agenda of the govt. and the public consciousness as roads and mass transit. It obviously is not, which is reflected by how late a thread was started in this regard. Thanks robertashok, for at least setting the ball rolling..
I think JUSCO is digging kolkata's sector V currently for giving it 24x7 water supply. Currently lot of traffic jams due to that work but hopefully water supply will be better once the work is over.
^^ Currently various organizations are involved re-constructing and modernizing Kolkata's whole water supply system. This is a massive project by JnNURM/state govt. Hope there will be no water shortage or water wastage or water logging within a couple of years. :cheers:
The Ganga River, the holiest river in Hinduism and the important lifeblood for a half a billion Indians is treated like an open sewer where people take 'holy' dips a few hundred meters down river from industrial waste and sewage runoff.

Im surprised that more threads are not devoted to this topic. When it comes to sanitation and water in India, the state of the Ganges should be #1 on the list.
That's because the people who dump the sewage into the river don't care about those who bathe in it. It's as simple as that.
just start rain water harvesting.

there is plenty of rain there for us to be fully water sufficient.
It is tagged with probelms like storage,water quality degradation,mixing with toxics etc etc
I think JUSCO is digging kolkata's sector V currently for giving it 24x7 water supply. Currently lot of traffic jams due to that work but hopefully water supply will be better once the work is over.
Fu** JUSCO they have spoilt whole Mysore for that shit 24*7 Water supply thing funded under JNNURM.....Dusty roads,broken pavements...God save Mysore...Its a total Eyesore :cry:
British student dies after swimming in Ganges

LONDON: A British gap-year student died in India, days after swimming in the river Ganges.

Sam Banks, 20, collapsed with severe sickness and diarrhoea. By the time he was taken to a hospital in New Delhi, he was dead.

"I understand from friends out there that he (Sam) had been swimming in the Ganges," The Sun on Thursday quoted Sam's father Graham as saying.

"He was a fantastic young man, with hundreds of friends, and was so excited about India. He'd been saving up for a year - it was the first time he had been out of Europe."

A postmortem examination in India failed to detect the cause of his death. His body has been flown to Steep, Hants, for a second autopsy.

The river Ganges is one of the dirtiest rivers in India, with untreated sewage and industrial chemicals being dumped into it.

Sam's mother Louise said: "We're devastated. He had such a bright future."

A day before he died Sam learnt he had been accepted to study film at the London College of Communication.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...er-swimming-in-Ganges/articleshow/6114141.cms
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That's because the people who dump the sewage into the river don't care about those who bathe in it. It's as simple as that.
classic Indian mentality..."Im going to get whats mine, everyone else be damned." Then again there is only so much a poor river can take.


Ganga receding from ghats worries devotees :bash:

KANPUR: A large number of devotees from near and far had arrived at the ghats of Ganga on Monday to take a dip into the holy river on the occasion of Ganga Dussehra. But, it was a disappointing sight that awaited the devotees -- the river waters have receded a considerable distance away from the ghats. It was ironical that the day celebrated for the descent of the river on earth found it shrinking into oblivion again.

In what is being seen as the result of exploitation of the Ganga, the holy river has receded from majority of the Ghats, while changing its usual course. A visit to various ghats of the city revealed that the river span has either reduced to a drain, or completely dried up with formation of sand beds in its place.

At some of the ghats, the Ganga has shrunk into a `nullah', with algae on the water surface and the water body turning into a breeding ground for the mosquitoes.

Concerned over the present condition of the holy river, Devendra Agarwal, one of the devotees at Parmat Ghat said, "Is it the same river which used to be known for its purity. Its water has turned dark, it has receded from the ghats, the sand beds which used to form at the other side of the river banks, have started appearing at the ghats. Ganga has never been in such a bad shape for the past so many summers."

Even though lakhs have been spent on the beautification of the ghats, but with the Ganga missing from the banks, they too seemed to have lost their charm. As a result, the ghats wore a deserted look on Ganga Dussehra. While most of the visitors gave up on the idea of taking a dip, a few bravehearts covered the distance on foot.

Another devotee, Amit Saxena, who had to walk half-a-kilometre in scorching heat to reach the banks of the Ganga at Massacre Ghat said, "It is a pity that today we are in dire need of many Bhagiraths to save our holy river, Ganga. Is it for this day that we had come to vouch for the presence of the Ganga on Earth."

A 68 years old, Ganga Ram, who was found watering the crop on the sand beds at Massacre Ghat, said, "It is for the first in several years that `Maa Ganga' has shifted so far away from the ghats.''

It is not just receding of the river water but the change of course of the river that has thrown a bigger challenge to the authorities, who have already been struggling to control pollution in the river water.

It was a paradox to watch devotees offer `aartis' and seek the blessings of the river at a time when pollution and decreasing water level may end the river's existence altogether.

What is Ganga Dussehra?
Ganga Dussehra is believed to be the day when King Bhagirath had brought the sacred Ganga on this Earth. "The day is extremely significant, as it marks to be the beginning of the 10-day celebrations at the banks of the river. During this period, special `aartis' and `pujas' are organised and people seek the river's blessings," explained a city based astrologer, Aaadietya Pandey.

Depleting level of Ganga

The formation of sand beds and the drying up of the river has been reported following the depleting water level of the Ganga. In a span of two months, the level of Ganga has reduced by a foot.

From 357 ft and 7 inches in the month of April, the level of Ganga has reached 356 ft and 8 inches in the month of June. Breaking the record of the past two years, the water level of Ganga has recorded the lowest figure so far. Significantly, in 2009 and 2008 it recorded a level of 358 feet and 4 inches. Whereas, in 2007 the water level was 360 ft.

"Starting from the last year, the river started receding from the ghats as it changed its course towards Unnao district," said N M Chawdhary, executive engineer, Jal Sansthan.

However, the changing of the river course coupled with the river banks receding has alarmed the officials as the decreasing water level has started affecting the working of the pumping station.

Notably, the experts have claimed over-withdrawal of water from the river to be the prime reason for its shift.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...hats-worries-devotees/articleshow/6072207.cms

Himalayan rivers to dry up within 20 yrs: report

Singapore: Himalayan river basins in China, Bangladesh, India and Nepal will face a massive water depletion within 20 years, leading to a decline in food and mass migration, a research group warned on Monday.

Due to natural reasons like glacial melting, the four countries would lose almost 275 billion cubic metres of annual renewable water in the next two decades, more than the total amount of available water in Nepal at present, India-based Strategic Foresight Group said in a report.

"What we are looking at here is a major catastrophe ... going to happen in 20, 25 years," the group's president, Sundeep Waslekar, told a seminar at the Singapore International Water Week.

Water scarcity and effects like desertification and soil erosion would bring rice and wheat yields in China and India down by as much as 50 per cent by 2050, the report said.

"China and India alone will need to import more than 200 to 300 million tonnes of wheat and rice," it said.

"This will create a havoc in the global food market ... for people everywhere, because the prices will go up substantially," Waslekar said.

Water depletion in the river basins would displace millions of people in the four countries by 2050, he said.

"We are looking towards a disaster of more than 100 million migrants," he said, "and conflicts within and between countries."

The report called for more cooperation between the four nations in the management of the river basins.

The basins of the rivers, including the Yellow River and the Yangtze in China and the Ganges in India, are home to 1.3 billion people.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/himalayan-rivers-to-dry-up-within-20-yrs-report/125476-3.html
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MMRDA looks at new ways to rid Mithi of stink

copyright : TOI

MUMBAI: A Rs 1.2-crore experiment has not been able to rid the Mithi of its stink. So the MMRDA is back to its favourite olfactory laboratory in the city, the bed of the Mithi. The MMRDA will commission on July 23 a new experiment to stop the stench at the Vakola nullah.

"Earlier, the Florida-based Environmental Consulting & Technology Inc (ECT) had installed two machines to purify a 300-metre stretch of the Mithi in BKC a year ago. Though it improved the water quality and removed the stink, it was not an effective solution to treat the massive quantity of flowing water," said MMRDA commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad.

The new method will diffuse the poisonous gases in the river to bring down the biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). This new method, Gaikwad said, would rapidly purify around 100 million litres of water every day.

Gaikwad said the current experiment was working but the volume of water in the river was great and the process seemed expensive. "The new process will involve bottom level cleaning and can be done on flowing water. If successful, it can be used along the river and will not cost more than Rs 8 crore per year."

The new method has been developed by Raghavendra Rao, an engineer who runs STEPS, and the process has been used in China and Malaysia. "We will use rapid oxygenation and rapid flocculation methods to counter pollution. We will also tackle sulphides in the water, which give Mithi its bad odour and dark colour," said Rao. "We will know if we are successful within a month," he added.

The MMRDA will also try to blast the rocky formation at the mouth of the river again.
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Chennai gets a new source of drinking water

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/07/31/stories/2010073151962300.htm

CM to launch desalination plant today.

The Rs 600-crore facility, Chennai Water Desalination Ltd, will draw over 240 mld of sea water and process it to supply 100 mld of potable water using reverse osmosis technology.

Our Bureau

Chennai, July 30

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Mr M. Karunanidhi is to formally launch the 100 million litres a day (mld) desalination plant tomorrow. This is a landmark development for Chennai as it is the first to get a desalination plant on this scale through a public-private partnership mode.

This will mark the start of a new source of supply of drinking water, the sea, for Chennai's residents. The Rs 600-crore facility, Chennai Water Desalination Ltd, will draw over 240 mld of sea water and process it to supply 100 mld of potable water using reverse osmosis technology.

This will be a significant addition to the 600 mld of water being supplied to Chennai's residents now, and an assured source of supply.

Addressing a press conference to announce the formal inauguration, Mr S. Ramachandran, Managing Director, IVRCL Assets & Holdings Ltd, which is the major stakeholder in CWDL, said that it started commercial operation on July 23 since when it commenced supply of fresh water.

CWDL has implemented the project on DBOOT (Design-Build-Own-Operate-Transfer) basis for Metrowater, the public sector water utility responsible for supplying water to the residents.

Through a bulk water supply agreement, Metrowater will pay CWDL Rs 48.74 a kilolitre for the next 25 years.

IVRCL Assets' partner in the joint venture is Befesa India, a subsidiary of Befesa Construccion y Tecnologia Ambiental, Spain, which has provided the technology for the project.

CWDL entered into the agreement with Metrowater in September 2005. The project has started nearly two years behind schedule. Delays in clearances resulted in the work starting in February 2007 with commercial operations expected in June 2008.

But the company again faced a delay in setting up a 240 mld sea water intake system due to adverse sea conditions and inclement weather.

Mr Ramachandran said that CWDL has created capability to add 20 mld to the existing facility. It has initiated discussions with the State Government and can implement the capacity addition within 15 months if given the go ahead.

This will be the first of the two large desalination plants being set up in Chennai.

...
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Chennai desal project will open new opportunities: IVRCL

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/07/31/stories/2010073153040300.htm

Rs 600-cr water plant to be launched today.
Our Bureau

Chennai, July 30

IVRCL Infrastructures now has the proven ability to handle EPC for large desalination plants with the launch of the 100 mld desalination plant in Chennai, according to Mr S. Ramachandran, Managing Director, IVRCL Assets & Holdings Ltd.

The formal launch of the Rs 600-crore desalination plant in Chennai tomorrow will mark a new threshold not just for IVRCL, but also its Spanish technology partner and the market for water business in India.

The 100 mld (million litre a day) desalination plant at Minjur to the north of Chennai has been established by Chennai Water Desalination Ltd (CWDL), a joint venture of IVRCL Assets & Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary of the Hyderabad-based IVRCL Infrastructures & Projects Ltd, and Befesa India, a subsidiary of Befesa Construccion y Tecnologia Ambiental, Spain.

CWDL has implemented the project on DBOOT (Design-Build-Own-Operate-Transfer) for Metrowater, the public sector water utility responsible for the city's drinking water supply and sewage infrastructure. The company has a 25-year bulk water purchase agreement with Metrowater to supply 100 mld of potable water at Rs 48.74 a kilolitre. The desalination plant will take in 240 mld of seawater and convert it to potable water using reverse osmosis technology.

New opportunities

Addressing a press conference, Mr Ramachandran said the project is important for IVRCL as it now gives it proven capability to implement a project of this scale on its own. The company will look at emerging opportunity in the domestic market and abroad. Reverse osmosis is a proven technology available in the market and the arrangement with Befesa is not exclusive.

For the domestic water industry too this is a landmark as it is a pioneering bankable project in public- private partnership mode. This will open up and expedite new opportunities as similar projects are under the consideration of a number of State Governments including Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. IVRCL has also made a presentation of the potential to the West Bengal Government, he said.

...
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Centre impressed by DK ZP's water supply model

TNN, Jul 31, 2010, 10.06pm IST

MANGALORE: An initiative taken by DK zilla panchayat to meter rural water supply in the district has caught the fancy of department of drinking water supply, Union ministry of rural development. Presentations made by P Shivashankar, chief executive officer of the ZP at an international seminar in New Delhi on May 24, and subsequent presentations at regional seminars have convinced mandarins of the ministry about its efficacy.

The department is now pushing to replicate this endeavour at an all India level, where rural water supply is likely to be metered. The zilla panchayat took up this initiative on a pilot project basis in Kinnigoli, Haleyangadi, Thokur, and Golthamajalu gram panchayat. Riding on its success, the zilla panchayat has so far ensured partial metering of drinking water connections in 127 out of 203 gram panchayats in Dakshina Kannada district.

The spatial distribution of habitats in the district makes operation and maintenance of drinking water schemes implemented by the panchayat a challenging task, Shivashankar told reporters at an interaction meet organised by Dakshina Kannada District Working Journalists' Association. "We see a lot of water going waste in many places, and there are issues of inequitable distribution of water and rates charged to end users," he noted.

The zilla panchayat has so far succeeded in fixing meters to 39,000 out of the 86,000-odd rural water connections in the district. "The World Bank too is taking interest in projecting the initiative taken up by us," he said, adding that the Union ministry through the department is likely to come out with a policy statement on implementing this initiative, specifying the role of government, and the people while undertaking this mammoth exercise.

Another challenge, Shivashankar said is ensuring water source continuity to the 1,800-odd drinking water schemes functional in the district. "We will be implementing source continuity initiatives in gram panchayats in Bantwal and Mangalore taluk at an estimated cost of Rs 2.5 crore during the current monsoon," he said adding that the panchayat was awaiting government nod for this expenditure. The results may be evident next summer.
TOI
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