Society, Culture, Religion and History

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Today is Blog Action Day 2008, where blogs all over the world are writing about poverty. We thought we would use this opportunity to talk about water and poverty.

This book brings together current knowledge and cutting edge interdisciplinary perspectives from renowned scholars on the histories, politi

Key Features: Reviews the risks of inter-basin water transfers warns of critical disadvantages with India's proposed ILR plan offers viable less-risky solutions for water resource development. Inter-basin water transfers are complex human interventions on natural systems that can have profound adverse as well as beneficial social, economic and environmental implications. India's plan to interlink its rivers (ILR) and to transfer water may, according to one set of views, generate positive benefits through improved and expanded irrigation and may also contribute to flood and drought hazards mitigation for India, although the magnitudes are debatable. However, there are opposing views, in the context of India itself, that the interlinking plan is economically prohibitive, fraught with uncertainties, and has potential for disastrous and irreversible adverse after-effects. Water deficit can be reduced through improved water management without large scale engineering interventions. Moreover many of the rivers involved, particularly in the Himalayan component, are international and, therefore, the scheme has major implications for other riparians. Indeed, the planned transfer of water from the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers will adversely impact Bangladesh socially, economically and environmentally---unless arrangements are made to maintain historical flows, which is unlikely to be feasible.

All is not well with the High Level Expert Group (HLEG) constituted on an order of the Government of India to determine the flow required to keep the Bhagirathi river 'alive and to ensure perennial environmental flow in the river'. It may be recalled that on June 30, 2008 the Government of India committed itself to "suitably ensure perennial environmental flow in all stretches of river Bhagirathi."This commitment was made in response to a representation of the Alumini Association of IIT- Kanpur to the Prime Minister of India requesting his intervention in the fast-unto-death undertaken by Dr. G.D. Agrawal , a former Dean of IIT-Kanpur -- to ensure the natural and uninterrupted flow of the Bhagirathi river between Gangotri and Dharasu (Uttarkashi). Subsequently the Ministry of Power, GoI, directed Shri R.S. Sharma, Chairman & Managing Director of NTPC, to constitute a high level expert group. The biggest problem with the HLEG is that it lacks the necessary scientific expertise to comprehensively address the issue. In a letter to Shri R.S. Sharma, rejecting his invitation to be a member of the HLEG, Dr G.D. Agrawal wrote, "Several members of the HLEG as constituted (including its Chairman) fall extremely short on any sort of expertise on river ecology and environmental flows...The commitment of most proposed members towards conservation of Bhagirathi Gangaji as the mother of India's faith, unity and culture is also questionable and I cannot afford to provide credibility to its deliberations and conclusions by being an ordinary member of the group."

Orans are local micro bio-diversity reserves- community conserved areas (CCAs) harboring the shrine of a local goddess or deity. Also known as Dev-banis, these local forests vary in size from a hundred to five hundred bighas (about hundred hectares). Most Orans have sources of water, either small springs or rivulets running through them or a variety of ponds and nadis in their midst.

An Open Painting Competition on the theme "PROPER SANITATION AND SAFE WATER"held on Sunday the 25th May, 2008, by Arghyam & YVU, Thoubal.

Forwarded to the Portal by: Shruti, SOPPECOM Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India invites abstracts for papers on "Contending Water Uses and Users and Inter-Sectoral Equity in South Asia: Cases and Learnings for a New Policy,

Below in the link to an image of the Lonar Crater in India, captured by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) flying on NASA's Terra satellite. It was identified in 1823 by a British officer named C.J.E. Alexander, it sits inside the Deccan Plateau a massive plain of volcanic basalt rock leftover from eruptions some 65 million years ago.

The Polavaram project on the river Godavari in AP is in the news due to the rejection of the evironmental impact assessment and the subsequent stay on the rejection by the court. We have put together a page with resources on the Polavaram dam project for the Water Conflicts section. Click here