India

The Freshwater we have

Corrections from CEE pending

Jingles and Songs
Some are short,
some are long. The message is strong, So come hum along.

Street plays are fun. With minimal props and a stress on action and sounds, they can be enacted in a quadrangle, a classroom, a playground and ofcourse, a street.Here are complete scripts of two street plays and a mini-script that starts you off and lets you design your own play

A two day National Workshop on need for policy and legal norms for allowing freshwater flows in Rivers in India on January 3-4, 2009 at Bangalore ended with a unanimous demand that governments must allow continuous, sustained freshwater flows in all perennial rivers of India, whenever, a dam, diversion or hydropower project is planned, constructed or operated. Inaugurating the workshop on the morning of January 3, 2009, Shri L C Jain, former member, planning commission of India (and many other important posts), expressed his pain and anguish on the state of India's Rivers, "It is very disturbing that the acts of commissions and omissions of the authorities have ruthlessly, blindly, heartlessly lead todestruction of almost every major rivers of India. The hearts of the officials and ministers should throb for the millions depending for their needs and livelihoods on the rivers, but it seems that the stones of the South and North block buildings have entered their hearts." Quoting Gandhiji's agenda for the economic independence of India from what he wrote in the Young India on November 29, 1929, Jain said, Land, Water and Air cannot be subject of commerce, but the planners lock up the pain, hunger, malnutrition in the paragraphs of their five year plan documents and do not ensure their inclusion in their actual plans and programmes. He expressed his deep anguish that even the recommendations of the official policies and committees on ensuring freshwater flows in the rivers remain unimplemented.

The Preliminary Consolidated Report on the Effect of Climate Change on Water Resources, prepared by the Central Water Commission and the National Institute of Hydrology, under the guidance of the Ministry of Water Resources in 2008, is one of the first official reports made available by the Government of India, of a reliable quantitative assessment based on field data, of the likely effect of climate change on the availability of water resources, i.e. on the glaciers and snow melt, on rainfall and their effect on run off into the river system and their contribution to ground water. In the Report, an attempt has been made to give a brief account of the available studies on possible impacts of climate change on India's water resources, change in India's water needs, climate of India, river basins of the country, present water resources and future demand and supply, impacts of projected climate change and variability, and associated hydrological events and likely vulnerability of regional water resources to climate change. Identification of key risks, research needs and prioritisation of mitigation strategies has also been discussed. Access the report here: Preliminary Consolidated Report on the Effect of Climate Change on Water Resources

Capture the children's attention. Start your Geography or Environment Education class with a water story or some trivia.

Indian rivers

Rainwater is considered a very pure form of water but it dissolves a number of impurities as it courses down the atmosphere and along catchments.  Most contamination of rainwater occurs after contact with the catchment surface (roof or ground) and during subsequent delivery and storage.

Delivery pipelines convey water from the storage tank to points of use. Ultra violet treated PVC pipes or GI pipes are normally used. The water can either be pumped or flow by gravity depending on where the tank and end-use points are situated.

Installation of delivery pipelines

Storage tanks are the most expensive part of a rainwater harvesting systems, so due consideration must be given to its design and construction. The size of the storage tank depends on the amount of rainfall that can be harvested, the demand, aesthetics and budget.

It is preferable to filter the rainwater before storing it. If leaves and other organic material enter the storage tank, they decompose and support bacterial growth in the tank. Dirt and other debris, if not filtered out, can cause blocks in the plumbing system when the stored rainwater is used.