On 12 August 2008, various political parties staged a protest against the ruling BJP’s [Bharatiya Janata Party] decision to reduce, only marginally, the tariffs for domestic water supply in the Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) area.
The decision was arrived at after deliberations at an all-party meeting in June 2008. Now the protesting parties, whose representatives participated in the all-party meeting, are demanding that the tariffs be reduced substantially to take them to the rates that existed before September 2007.
Read more: Shikha Aggarwal, Down to Earth, 30 Sep 2008
Commenting on the fights over water pricing in the city of Managalore, Karnataka state, Down to Earth magazine says that “the protestors themselves are clueless about how the water in their city was priced. The Mangalore Municipal Corporation (MCC) says poor cost recovery is preventing it from delivering the best of services. But facts speak otherwise. An analysis of MCC’s monthly expenditure on water supply shows about half the amount is for repayment of a massive loan taken from Asian Development Bank for revamping and upgrading the water supply and sewerage network. Believe it or not, MCC recovers a whopping Rs 8.7 per kilolitre from consumers. While cost recovery is important to inculcate water conservation habits, it is equally important to have transparency in tariff setting. As things stand, the urban consumer is in no way involved in the planning process, but remembered at the time of tariff recovery. While massive hardware plans are drawn up consumers are told nothing about what the big plan is-only that more water will come from our taps. That is hardly ever the case. And without fail we end up paying more each time”.
Hashizume, M. … [t al.] (2008). Factors determining vulnerability to diarrhoea during and after severe floods in Bangladesh. Journal of water and health ; vol. 6, no. 3 ; p. 323-332. doi:10.2166/wh.2008.062
Abstract
This paper identifies groups vulnerable to the effect of flooding on hospital visits due to diarrhoea during and after a flood event in 1998 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The number of observed cases of cholera and non-cholera diarrhoea per week was compared to expected normal numbers during the flood and post-flood periods, obtained as the season-specific average over the two preceding and subsequent years using Poisson generalised linear models. The expected number of diarrhoea cases was estimated in separate models for each category of potential modifying factors: sex, age, socio-economic status and hygiene and sanitation practices. During the flood, the number of cholera and non-cholera diarrhoea cases was almost six and two times higher than expected, respectively. In the post-flood period, the risk of non-cholera diarrhoea was significantly higher for those with lower educational level, living in a household with a non-concrete roof, drinking tube-well water (vs. tap water), using a distant water source and unsanitary toilets. The risk for cholera was significantly higher for those drinking tube-well water and those using unsanitary toilets. This study confirms that low socio-economic groups and poor hygiene and sanitation groups were most vulnerable to flood-related diarrhoea.
Contact: Masahiro Hashizume, Research Center for Tropical Infectious Diseases, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Japan, hashizum [at ] nagasaki-u.ac.jp
Lahiri-Dutt, K. and Wasson, R.J. (2008). Water first : issues and challenges for nations and communities in South Asia. London, UK [etc], Sage. 476 p. ISBN: 9780761936251 Price: GBP 45.00
This book brings together current knowledge and cutting edge interdisciplinary perspectives from renowned scholars on the histories, politics, ecologies and cultures of water in South Asia. It explores the complexities of the issues and challenges thrown up by contemporary water management practices in the South Asian region. It also attempts to ascertain whether or not the competing and/or complementary explanations provided for these issues are adequate or not. The book also offers examples of local action that has been taken. Through a rich offering of case studies firmly grounded in theory, the book elaborates how multiple representations have led to the current system of management of water resources in South Asia. The chapters in this book provide insights into the complex and dynamic relationships that exist between water and human societies – locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
Water-related community development activities have big returns-from universal coverage to better hygiene, reduced incidence of waterborne diseases, greater unity among communities, and more. This documentary video [16 min] shows the different stages of Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) engagement in rural water, focusing on Sri Lanka’s completed 3rd Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) Project and ongoing Secondary Towns and Rural Community-Based WSS Project.
Watch how a community-managed water supply and sanitation scheme transformed Punjab and its people. Video [15 min.] produced by the Asian Development Bank.
WaterLinks is a collaboration among the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the International Water Association (IWA), and US Agency for International Development (USAID) that will strengthen the implementation of ADB’s Water Operators Partnerships (WOPs) Program.
Established in 2008 at the Stockholm World Water Week, WaterLinks is a regional partnerships network for the Asia-Pacific region that will coordinate, develop, and implement joint support activities for WOPs by:
Establishing twinning partnerships for utilities and municipal agencies
Organizing capacity development activities via workshops and training events
Developing and maintaining a WOPs website that will serve as information clearinghouse
A high concentration of arsenic in the water and soil is infiltrating Bangladesh’s food chain, raising serious health concerns for millions of residents, specialists warn.
[...]
According to new field surveys of arsenic contamination in soil, water and plants in various parts of the country by scientists from Japan’s Nihon University and local researchers, arsenic was found in all types of crops in the worst-affected areas.
An earlier survey by scientists of the School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK, analysed 330 samples of “aman” (rain-fed) and “boro” (irrigated) rice, 94 vegetables and 50 pulse and spice samples for arsenic and found that the districts with the highest mean arsenic rice grain levels were all in the south-west.
On 26 Sep 2008, Japan signed an agreement with Aga Khan Cultural Service to extend grant of $ 132,826 under Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects to provide drinking water to the residents of Northern Areas of Pakistan.
Under this grant, Aga Khan Cultural Service will start two projects in Doqsa, Skardu, and Giram Altit in the Northern Area of Pakistan, for providing safe drinking water and to improve public health conditions in these areas.
[...]
Under the agreement, a project for Water Filtration and Delivery for Village Doqsa, Skardu, Northern Area, with 3.9 km pipe and a water filtration facility, for processing 8,640 gallons of polluted water per hour to provide it to 1000 people in Doqsa, Skardu, Northern Area will be completed.
Another project for Improvement of Community-based Environmental Sanitation, Giram Altit, Northern Area will be constructed with 2 km water pipeline and a water sewage disposal facility, to process 320,040 gallons of sewage water and improvement of sanitation for 1,200 people in Giram Altit, Northern Area will be completed.
The government of Bhutan [pop. 637,000] has increased its budget for water supply and sanitation projects in its budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year from Nu 279 million [EUR 4.14 million = US$ 6.07 million] to Nu 361 million [EUR 5.35 million = US$ 7.85 million].
The total budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year is yet to fully incorporate the Nu 35 billion government of India committed assistance, but the government has estimated the budget for the fiscal year at about Nu 25.439 billion.
Public toilets have been a good source of income for the municipality of Hetuda. [Income from] the public toilets operated by Aadarsha Tole Development Organization through a [public-]private partnership programme [has been shared equally between] the municipality and Tole Development Organization.
The organization had collected toilet fees worth Rs. 777,000 [EUR 7,300 = US$ 10,700) and made a profit worth Rs. 432,000 [EUR 4,100 = US$ 6,000] after deducting expenses.
Revisit Asia’s irrigation sector in this latest issue of Water for All e-newsletter, featuring a new report on reviving Asia’s irrigated agriculture, Aceh farmers’ success in rebuilding tsunami-damaged irrigation systems, and a showcase of ADB’s irrigation projects. Read previous issues | Subscribe
How to Make It Happen The 18th book in the Water for All series, this report examines the current state of sanitation services in India and offers six recommendations that can help key stakeholders work toward universal sanitation coverage. Download PDF
To Sustainably Meet Tomorrow’s Food NeedsAsia needs major irrigation reforms or face food security and water management crises. This report lays out challenges, options, and scenarios to feed Asia's population that is expected to expand by 1.5 billion in 2050. Download PDF
New perspectives on Asia’s water issues were presented in ADB’s “Eye on Asia” event on 18 August during last week's Stockholm World Water Week, drawing in a crowd of some 100 participants from Asia and elsewhere. Several of the region’s experts from government, private sector, academe, and civil society incited critical debates and discussions on urban […]
Issues and Challenges for AsiaThe 17th book in the Water for All series, this report aims to raise awareness and capacity on the issues surrounding water rights and allocation among competing uses and among various stakeholder groups in Asia. Download PDF | Free copy
NEWater, Singapore’s reclaimed water produced from used water and purified to drinking water standards, isn’t an overnight success story. PUB Singapore's Harry Seah says, “It’s the product of years of investment in used water infrastructure and research on water technologies.”
Investing in Small Piped Water NetworksSmall piped water networks provide temporary piped water connections until the water utility is able to do so. This toolkit offers guidance in implementing such projects for poor communities without access to piped water systems.
Water reuse has become a popular alternative water resource for many countries in the Asia-Pacific. This issue of ADB's Water for All News focuses on different uses of treated wastewater, the factors decision makers need to consider in designing a water reuse program, and the possibilities that can be tapped for the byproducts of this process.
Water reuse is fast becoming an option in water scarce countries but is accompanied by multiple issues. What success factors should decision makers consider?
It takes time to develop a water reuse scheme but multiple rewards await the persistent—from boosting scarce water supply to protecting the environment.
