India: protests against Dow Chemical sponsorship of Live Earth

Organisations representing the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy protested in New Delhi against the Dow Chemical Company sponsorship of the Live Earth Run for Water. They were supported by Amnesty International. The organisers of the Live Earth Run for Water in New Delhi turned out to be a group of Bhopal activists posing as the fictitious Hindustan Sea Turtle Alliance (HASTA).

Dow Chemical has consistently maintained that they do not hold accountability for the disaster, having bought the responsible company, Union Carbide, many years after the toxic gas leak.

But many environmental groups are adamant that they remain responsible for the ongoing horrific consequences of the disaster.

In New Delhi social activist Satinath Sarang said: “Today all over the world, Live Earth is organizing a run for water. This event, which is supposed to address the global water crisis, ironically is being sponsored by Dow Chemicals, which is one of the greatest polluters on earth and one of the big reasons why there is a water crisis today. To start with, Dow Chemical is responsible for the poison in the ground water and soil in Bhopal that is causing cancer and birth defect and damage to the liver, kidneys and brain in Bhopal.”

Amnesty International: Dow cannot run from the legacy of Bhopal

Amnesty International works in partnership with organisations such as The International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal to help support survivors and activists to demand justice, accountability and an end to 25 years of human rights violations.

Their campaign for adequate clean-up, access to clean water and proper medical care, compensation and accountability has seen survivors and supporter groups, including children and people with disabilities, repeatedly make the 800-kilometre march from Bhopal to New Delhi.

More than 100 Bhopal survivors launched an indefinite protest in New Delhi on 16 April 2010, urging the Indian government to resolve the liabilities in Bhopal.

“Sponsoring an event that highlights water scarcity while ignoring ongoing problems with access to clean water and medical care, amongst other issues, in Bhopal is at best hypocrisy, at worst, a flagrant attempt by Dow to try to white-wash its image,” said Audrey Gaughran, Director of Global Issues at Amnesty International. “Dow may be trying to run away from the legacy of Bhopal, but it can’t be allowed to hide behind sponsorship of ‘Run for Water’ events.”

On 26 March 2010 Amnesty International wrote to Live Earth to express concern about Dow’s involvement in the “Run for Water” events. Amnesty has not received a response to that letter.

Nearly 900 people have so far signed a petition of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal requesting Live Earth to dissociate itself from Dow.

Bhopal Groups Subvert Dow-funded Live Earth Run for Water in Delhi

Participants who had registered for the Dow Live Earth Run for Water in New Delhi found that the event had been transformed into the Bhopal Walk for Water. The Hindustan Sea Turtle Alliance (HASTA), which had officially registered to organise the run in New Delhi, revealed that they were a “fictitious group set up to expose the global event as Dow Chemical’s attempt to sidestep its legal responsibilities by engaging in greenwash”.

“We are doing this to expose the irony of Dow sponsoring a global awareness campaign on water scarcity, even while it is being called upon by communities from Bhopal to Michigan to clean up precious water resources damaged by Dow’s activities,” said Rachna Dhingra of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal.

Featuring a fortune-teller, snake charmer, juggler, magician and other lively communicators, the Bhopal Walk for Water took visitors through “a colourful multimedia display of Dow Chemical’s skills in jugglery, magic, handling poisons and even certain dark arts”.

Related web sites

• Read the official Dow Chemical statement on Bhopal
• See the official Dow Live Earth Run for Water page
• See the Live Earth page of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal
• See the web page of the “”fake” Hindustan Sea Turtle Alliance

See also: India, Bhopal: bottled water stunt targets Dow ‘greenwashing’, WASH news Asia & Pacific, 23 Jul 2009

Source: NDTV, 19 Apr 2010 ; Amnesty International, 16 Apr 2010 ; International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal

India: director of Anti-Coca Cola documentaries dies in rail accident

Saratchandran

The director of acclaimed documentaries on the Anti-Coca Cola struggle at Plachimada, India, was killed in a railway accident at Nellayi in Thrissur, Kerala.

Filmmaker C. Sarathchandran (53) is especially known for his works ‘Kaippunneeru’ (The Bitter Drink) in 2003 and ‘The Thousand Days and a Dream’ (2006). The films show how a struggle of a few thousand tribal villagers in central Kerala grew into a people’s movement against the most powerful corporate giant in the world, the Coca Cola company.

The American soft-drink company had a bottling plant in Plachimada until 2004, when it was closed down after a successful campaign by activists, who claimed that it was responsible for a drastic decline in the quantity and quality of water available to local farmers and villagers.

The Kerala state government is currently considering an expert committee recommendation to claim Rs 216.26 crore (US$ 48.6 million) in damages from Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Ltd.

Sarathchandran was traveling in the Guruvayur-Egmore Chennai Express when he fell onto the track while trying to help a man who slipped from the moving train, police said.

With his documentaries, the filmmaker aimed to raise public awareness on environment issues and people’s struggles in his native Indian state of Kerala.

At the time of his death he was working on documentaries on industrial pollution due to a gelatin factory near Trichur, and a film on the current state of Chaliyar river.

Read the obituary by his friend and director of the School of Media Studies, C S Venkiteswaran.

Source: Deccan Herald, 01 Apr 2010 ; Movies Updated blog, 11 Apr 2010

China, Ningbo: World Bank loan addresses rural waste water management

The World Bank has approved a loan of $50 million to China to improve rural wastewater management and township infrastructure in Ningbo Municipality.

Ningbo Municipality is a major city in the southeastern coastal zone of China, about 300 km south of Shanghai, and has a population of 5.65 million. Despite rapid economic growth since the late 1970s, Ningbo is facing increasing urban-rural disparities including per capita income of rural residents much below than that of urban residents, fewer economic opportunities, inadequate basic infrastructure, shortage and low quality of drinking water supply, and insufficient sanitation services in the rural areas. The Ningbo Municipal Government is working to implement the New Countryside Development (NCD) Program, a national strategy aimed at reducing the urban-rural disparity, balancing urban and rural development, and promoting human-centered, quality-based, resource-saving and eco-friendly growth in the countryside.

In support of the municipality’s efforts, the Ningbo New Countryside Development Project will focus on improving rural waste water management in about 150 selected villages in Ningbo Municipality and enhancing infrastructure development in Chunhu Town of Fenghua City by financing construction of an access road, water supply networks, and wastewater collection and treatment facilities. In the meantime, the Bank will provide technical assistance to build local capacities.

The total project cost is $107 million with the World Bank contributing about 47 percent.

The World Bank has a close working relationship with Ningbo Municipality. In recent years the Bank financed a number of projects in Ningbo, including the Ningbo Water and Environment Project, Zhejiang Urban Environment Project, and the Global Environment Facility-supported Ningbo Water and Environment Project.

For more information go to the Ningbo New Countryside Development Project page

Source: World Bank, 25 Feb 2010

Bangladesh: Army to help Dhaka water authority

Army personnel will officially be tasked with helping Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority ease the persisting water crisis in the capital during the current heat wave. The government decided on March 29 to engage troops to cooperate with WASA from April 1, but a request from army headquarters to the LGRD ministry and Dhaka WASA postponed the engagement. The move follows angry protests earlier this month by residents who have been facing an acute water crisis. The army men would maintain security and manage smooth supply of water at every zone across the capital.

WASA sources said it currently produces some 1,900 million litres of water a day, whereas the demand goes up to 2,200 litres during summer.

The water shortage has led to a spike in water-borne diseases. Since 1 April, the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases and Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR, B) has admitted 900-1,000 patients a day, compared to a normal average of 250-300.

About 87 percent of Dhaka residents receive piped water, mostly from deep tube wells, according to DWASA, with the rest dependent on surface water that is treated.

But ongoing power shortages have made it impossible to pump from lower depths what is needed, with an increasing number of residents complaining about the quality and smell of water coming out of their taps.

Source: South Asia Media Net, 7 Apr 2010 ; IRIN, 19 Apr 2010

China, Shenzhen: experts sound alarm on water supply

The capacity of Shenzhen’s reservoirs is only enough to meet residents’ demand for one and a half months, water experts have cautioned.  Lack of capacity among the existing reservoirs could render the city helpless in an emergency or a severe drought of the sort which is raging across Southwest China, experts with the city’s water resources bureau said.  Shenzhen is one of seven Chinese cities facing a critical lack of water resources with a per-capita water capacity of 175 cubic meters, less than 10 percent of the national average.

Public complaints regarding the waste of water in public buildings and the leisure industry are increasing. Members of the public have asked for heavy users to be charged higher water rates. At a public hearing on a water price hike in January, the Shenzhen Water Group put forward four proposals calling for a maximum increase of 37 percent per cubic meter for domestic water and 64 percent for industrial use. Most citizens supported the price hike, saying it would help improve people’s awareness of water conservation.

Source: Shenzhen Daily, 7 Apr 2010

India, Mumbai: largest sanitation project nearing completion

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has completed 80% of the country’s largest sanitation project, Nirmal Mumbai Metropolitan Region Sanitation Abhiyan. “After conducting surveys, we found that the backlog between the demand and supply was around 25,000 seats,” said Ashwini Bhide, joint metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA. The project was started in February 2008 with the intention of providing areas with community toilets. The completion date is May 1. Of the 24,000 toilets planned, which includes urinals, 19,000 are ready for use. The project covers five municipal corporations and 13 municipal councils in the metropolitan region, which includes the suburbs and Thane.

“Most toilets are built by demolishing the defunct ones,” said CK Patil, chief of Nirmal Abhiyan. There are separate toilets for women, men, children and handicapped people, bathrooms and washbasins, and a room for the caretakers. The centres have continuous water and electricity supply, and have a usage charge of Rs30 to Rs50 [Euro 0.50 t0 0.83] per month, per family. Passes are given to each family and records are kept by the caretaker.

Source: Joanna Lobo, DNA, 7 Apr 2010

India, Rajasthan: community solutions to tackle water woes

With the water crisis worsening in the desert state of Rajasthan, the state government is now focusing on community-based water management solutions instead of predominantly engineering-based ones. In its recently announced water policy, the state government has shifted its focus towards community-level empowerment and responsibility for water management under the umbrella process of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). The government has chosen nine blocks – three each in Jodhpur, Nagaur and Churu districts – to implement a pilot project.

“The ground water situation is quite alarming in the state with only 30 water blocks out of total 237 left in safe zone. Since water is limited, there is a need to manage water very intelligently, which is not possible without active and direct involvement of citizens,” N S Satsangi, Chief Engineer (Quality Control and External Aided Projects), State Water Resource Planning Department, is quoted by Zee news.

“Every measure to educate people and ensure their participation in water conservation and water management will be taken across the state,” he said. For this, initially, Water User Groups (WUG) of 20 local people each will be formed at every Gram Sabha level. WUG members will be trained for water management by local NGOs. The Chief Engineer said the awareness programmes, capacity building and other related activities would be conducted at a fast pace with reinstatement of funds from the European Union. European Union Ambassador Daniele Smadja had recently announced reinstatement of a grant of Rs 450 crore [Euro 75,5 million, 7 Apr 2010] for water-related projects in the state.

Source: Zee News, 6 Apr 2010

India, Andhra Pradesh: first global example of success in self-regulation of groundwater use

The Indian state Andhra Pradesh has produced the first global example of large scale success in self-regulation of groundwater use. At the cost of US$2,200 per village per year, communities have shown the first large-scale example of self-regulation of groundwater in drought-prone areas. Farmers have doubled their income, while bringing their groundwater use close to sustainable levels. In many cases, farmers have voluntarily reduced their water use, while continuing to safeguard their crops.

This is one of the practical interventions described in Deep Wells and Prudence, a recent World Bank report. It addresses the issue of groundwater sustainability in India where an increasing number of aquifers are reaching unsustainable levels of exploitation.

India is the largest groundwater user in the world, with an estimated usage of around 230 cubic kilometres per year, more than a quarter of the global total. With more than 60% of irrigated agriculture and 85% of drinking water supplies dependent on it, groundwater is a vital resource for rural areas in India. A 2004 nationwide assessment found 29% of groundwater blocks to be in the semi-critical, critical, or overexploited categories, with the situation deteriorating rapidly.

The World Bank report provides a menu of practical and non-controversial interventions which can be implemented in the current environment. Amongst its several suggestions, the report calls for community management of ground water wherein the user community is the primary custodian of the resource and is charged with implementing management measures.

Source:  OneWorld South Asia, 6 Apr 2010

China: three detained for massive water pollution in Chengdu

Three men were detained on 5 April 2010 for dumping garbage in a river that caused massive tap water pollution in Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, the Environment Protection Agency quoted police. The men admitted to have dumped four tonnes of solid wastes in Baimu River, source of drinking water for Chengdu city.

Tap water supply to parts of Chengdu was turned off for hours Friday noon after the pollution incident took place. Water supply resumed at 11 p.m. the same day. The garbage was fished up by Saturday morning. Tests in the past several days indicated the water in Baimu river is safe, a spokesman with Chengdu water resources department said.

Source: Sichuan Environment Protection Agency media news, 6 Apr. 2010

Maldives: Biwater to operate desalination and sewage treatment plants

Biwater International Limited has signed a US$42 million water purchase agreement with Southern Utilities Limited to provide potable water to the Southern Province of the Republic of the Maldives.

The South Province includes the Seenu and Gnaviyani Atolls, which together have a current population of around 26,000. This figure is projected to increase to around 37,000 over the life of the contract.

Biwater will construct six seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants with a total production of 3,000 m³ per day and will design and construct the distribution system to enable storage and delivery of potable water to over 4,500 households. After the commissioning period, Biwater will operate and maintain the desalination plants for a period of 20 years.

In addition, Biwater will design and construct four new sewage treatment plants as well as a new sewer collection system to transport wastewater from households to the new treatment plants. Biwater will operate and maintain the sewage treatment system for the same 20 year period.

Source: Biwater, 31 Mar 2010