Garudeshwar dam: for a statue or for people?
The dam in Gujarat's Bharuch district will act as downstream storage for the Sardar Sarovar project which means it can't be used for irrigation, flood control or even net power generation.However, it will create a reservoir around the 'Statue of Unity' proposed to be world's tallest statue
Industry pollutes lone water source of 27 Andhra villages
The water of Bhoodidavagu stream in Khammam district, now grey, causes skin diseases and kills livestock who drink it. The area has coal mines, sponge iron factories and the country's third largest power generation utility, the Kothagudem thermal power station
Modi magic: link Ganga and Cauvery
BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi announced at his election rally in Ramanathapuram that if elected to power, he will interlink Ganga and Cauvery rivers to solve Tamil Nadu's water woes
Rocket fuel takes away water, brings in disease
The Kochi villagers where wells were found contaminated with ISRO's rocket fuel chemical, are suffering from hypothyroidism. Have to depend on groundwater as the water tankers promised by the government never came
Karur farmers to exercise NOTA to protest against dyeing industry
1750 farmers protesting pollution of their river and farmlands by 500 dyeing and bleaching units in this Tamil Nadu district, decide to exercise the 'None of the Above' option these elections
Delhi railway stations consume 15 lakh litres water daily
37 tubewells supply water to all the eight railway stations and railway colonies in Delhi which is even used for washing trains. Except for one, no station or colony has a rainwater harvesting system, an RTI reply revealed
Build wall to stop river diversion: Tribunal
The Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal, constituted to hear the dispute between Karnataka and Goa on the Mhadei river, told Karnataka to stop water diversion from the Mhadei basin to the Malaprabha river basin. The river is the lifeline of North Goa
Tamil Nadu wants Cauvery Management Board
The state approached the Supreme Court to set up the Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee to ensure that Karnataka strictly follows the 2007 Court order of releasing 192 TMC feet water to downstream areas
JICA offers money for toilets in Delhi
The Japan International Cooperation Agency, which provided financial assistance for the earlier phases of the Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) and the Delhi Metro Rail, has now offered money for toilets for women and poor as part of the third phase of YAP
Abandoned borewells can be recharge wells too
Defunct borewells have been in news recently for becoming accident zones but they can be used to recharge aquifers if rooftop rainwater is led into these borewells after filtration
Maharashtra should use reservoirs prudently: SANDRP
In the wake of El Nino affecting the upcoming monsoon and last year's drought which was the worst the state saw since 1972, the state government needs to be very careful while using the water in its reservoirs
This is the news roundup of April 17 and 18, 2014.