Quality, Standards and Testing

Basanti Haldar (45) has been living in a slum at Kalikapur in Kolkata for over two decades. She works as a domestic help in an upscale locality in the neighbourhood. She is happy nowadays due to an increase in her income. 

Mazhapolima wins accolades for offering sustainable solution to overcome water scarcity

Scientists at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s Lucknow-based Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (CSIR-IITR) have developed a technology for disinfecting water that promises to provide safe and clean drinking water at a cost of just two paise per litre. 

We have just a year to go for Swachh Bharat Mission’s (SBM) deadline of making India open-defecation free (ODF). In the last four years, the government has built 86.08 million toilets (as on September 26, 2018) throughout the country as a part of this flagship programme on providing safe sanitation to all by October 2019.

Uttar Pradesh generates second most urban sewage in India at 12 percent of the national total behind only Maharashtra at 13 percent.

The family of Somesh Manikpuri of Amasivani colony in Raipur is still in shock of his sudden demise from jaundice in May this year. Six similar deaths have been reported from Raipur since April 2018. Memsingh Chandrakar, a resident of Naharpara, another locality in Raipur, was also affected by jaundice in May.

As the Ganga emerges from the glaciers and glides along the foothills of the mighty Himalayas through the towns and cities with their sprawling ghats, engineered embankments, hydroelectric dams, and interrupted flows at barrages, the icy chilliness of its waters is lost.

River Mutha, the pride of Pune, lovingly called 'Muthai' or 'mother Mutha', is dying a slow death, thanks to the rapidly urbanising city which is depositing huge amounts of untreated sewage and dirt in its water. The pollution of the river is consistently rising.

Access to freshwater is essential for all life and is a human right recognised by the United Nations. However, millions of people around the world face water scarcity, poor water quality, and inadequate sanitation.

Estimates suggest that about 10 million Indians are affected by fluorosis, a sickness associated with the consumption of increased concentrations of fluoride, mostly through water. Bones get weakened due to excessive accumulation of fluoride in them which results in increased hip and wrist fractures. Dental enamel gets eroded.