Nepal, Kathmandu Valley: 47 pc water ‘unsafe’

Kathmandu: A recent survey has found chlorine content in 47 per cent of piped water samples collected from 120 places of the Valley nil even as chlorination of drinking water is needed for its decontamination. Initiated by NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation (NGOFUWS) and tested by consumers themselves, 648 samples among the 1,385 tested in between June 9 and August 25 contained no Free Residual Chlorine (FRC) while 99 samples contained higher FRC than recommended.

Read more: Merina Sharma, The Himalayan Times / NGO Forum, 26 Aug 2008

Workshop on Innovations in the Water Sector, 20-23 Jan 2009, Pune, India

Organised by:  Fulbright Indo-American Environmental Leadership Program (F-IAELP) of the United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF)

Participants will be from research institutes, various ministries under the Government of India, academia and NGOs. Indian and U.S. Fulbrighters will also attend the workshop.

Topics:

• Conflicts over demand and supply in the water sector.
• Process/institutional/technological innovations that serve as instruments to bring efficiency, equity and sustainability in the water sector.
• Case studies to demonstrate wider impacts of innovation on domestic, agricultural and industrial water sector.

Abstract deadline: 31 Aug 2008

For more information go to the USIEF web site

Training Course on “Rope Pump: Production, Installation and Operation & Maintenance”, 23-25 Sep 2008, Tamil Nadu, India

The training course is being organized under the Green Post-Tsunami Action (GPTA) project funded by the European Commission and implemented by the lead NGO, Humana People to People India (HPPI) in partnership with Ekoventure, a local NGO and Practica Foundation from The Netherlands in 60 coastal, agricultural and fishing villages of Tamil Nadu in Cuddalore, Villupuram, Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur Districts.

To register for the course, please contact at k.gaur@humana-india.org or ekoventure@dataone.in

More information

India: Ground Water Management Regulation Scheme to be implemented with plan outlay of Rs. 460 crores

A new scheme ‘Ground Water Management and Regulation’ will be implemented with an outlay of Rs. 460 crores. The existing schemes on ‘Ground Water Survey, Exploration and Investigation’, Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) and ‘Studies of Recharge to Ground Water’ through Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) till Xth Plan have been integrated as one scheme “Ground Water Management and Regulation”.

The Ground Water Management and Regulation scheme will help in strengthening Ground Water Resource Management System, delineation of Ground Water Development worthy areas, and developing area specific artificial recharge and rain water harvesting techniques. The scheme will also help in development of web enabled ground water data, capacity building of scientists, planners and other stakeholders and strengthening of coordination and synergy amongst all other stakeholders.

Read more: PIB, 25 Aug 2008

India, Andhra Pradesh: going beyond sanitation

What started as a campaign to improve rural sanitation in Andhra Pradesh, has galvanized communities to address through collective behavior change a broadening range of issues, from planting tress to improved management of disposed plastics.

Andhra Pradesh has benefited from both the national Total Sanitation Campaign and the Nirmal Gram Puraskar (clean village award) program [...], but the most impressive progress has come over the past year, after the state adopted its own state awards program for sanitation, the Shubhram Awards for cleanliness.

Read more: WSP Access, Aug 2008

India: Supporting Rural Drinking Water Reforms

Recognizing that supply-driven approaches to improving rural water supply have not led to sustainability, the Government of India has introduced a revised package of funding and incentives amounting to US$1.5 billion for 2008-2009 under its Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP), including the reintroduction of its flagship reform program, Swajaldhara.

The scheme aims to address the high rate of failure — an estimated 100,000 villages where the existing schemes have failed and another 100,000 habitations where water quality is affected.

While Swajaldhara seeks to introduce more demand responsive and participatory approaches to planning and implementation, the Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme also has significant allocations for water quality affected areas, source sustainability, and for operation and maintenance. In addition, the Government of India has introduced an incentive fund, the Sajal Gram Puraskar, to reward communities and local governments that achieve sustainable rural water supply.

Water and Sanitation Program – South Asia provided advocacy for demand-responsive approaches and assistance to the Government of India and states for the same, and supported the design of Swajaldhara and the rewards program, as well as design tools and approaches to institutionalize these.

Source: Access, Aug 2008

India: Rising costs hit Centre’s sanitation scheme

Just as several flagship development projects like the construction of rural roads have been hit by rising input costs, the government has been forced to take a hard look at its cost estimates for building toilets ["twin-pit water-seal" household latrines] for families below the poverty line in rural India. Soaring steel and cement prices have already hit the Centre’s toilet targets under the total sanitation campaign (TSC) in recent months.

In response, the ministry of rural development, which is the nodal agency for the implementation of TSC, has increased its cost estimates for constructing toilets to Rs 2500 per unit, from Rs 1500 per unit, that was fixed two years back. In order to ensure that the increased cost doesn’t hurt beneficiaries, the Centre and the states have decided to share the burden

So even as contribution from beneficiaries would continue to be at the current level of Rs 300 per unit, Central financial assistance for toilets has been hiked to Rs 1500 per unit from Rs 900. The share of state governments has been raised to Rs 700 from Rs 300, fixed in 2006.

Read more: Sandip Das, Indian Express, 26 Aug 2008  – see also: Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) in the XI Plan, PIB, 22 Aug 2008

India, Himachal Pradesh: Neen gets cleanest panchayat award, Kandror ranks second

Shimla, August 14

Making a significant headway in the state’s rural sanitation project, a community-driven campaign, the Himachal Pradesh government has decided to confer Maharishi Valmiki Sampooran Swachhta Puruskar (MVSSP) to Neen panchayat in Basantpur Block of Shimla district.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, who had introduced the reward scheme, will present the cheque to panchayat pradhan Uma Verma tomorrow at the Independence Day function being held at Paonta Sahib in Sirmaur district.

Read all ExpressIndia.com

Sri Lanka: child friendly schools – how children can learn the importance of safe drinking water

(…) The “child friendly concept” has been developed by Malteser International and UNICEF for 53 schools in Galle, Matara, Hambantota and Ampara Districts. Around 16,000 pupils have already or will soon get access to child friendly water and sanitation facilities. The need for this intervention has been identified by the Sri Lankan government, and thus Malteser International works closely with the Zonal Education Officers. According to Kelvin Shingles, the approach is based on the idea that children who participate in efforts to create a safer and more hygienic environment, learn about health and hygiene by doing: “This is an effective way to help young people to acquire the knowledge, attitudes, values and skills needed to adopt healthy lifestyles.” (…)

Source: Katrin Rehfuss, Malteser International / Reuters,

Web sites: Malteser International ; Wash in Schools

Related publication: Child-Friendly Hygiene and Sanitation Facilities in Schools

Myanmar: Cyclone victims harness rainwater to survive

Viewed as a curse by those who lost their homes and loved ones to Cyclone Nargis, heavy rain in recent weeks is proving a saviour of sorts to thousands of cyclone survivors in need of safe drinking water.

“When it rains, I feel it is a blessing,” Daw Khin, a woman in her early fifties in the village of Pawin outside Bogale Township at the far tip of the delta, said. “Now what I have to do when it rains is ensure it drains into a ceramic pot.

[...]

On 10 July the UN reported that 74 percent of people in the cyclone areas had inadequate access to clean water, with rainwater collection viewed as critical in reducing the risk of disease outbreaks.

Most people in the delta today find themselves reliant on rainwater as their primary source of safe drinking water.

Ponds, the traditional source of drinking water in the area, became heavily salinated when a three-metre tidal surge inundated much of the low-lying area.

[...]

International organisations and UN agencies, including the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), are working to provide water purification tablets and kits, as well as water filters, to ensure the water is clean.

Source: IRIN, 17 Jul 2008