GUWAHATI: The people of Rajbari, Tamulbari, Tintukra, Rail Gate, Bonda, Birkuchi and Sankar Gaon villages under Kamrup (Metro) have been suffering from the non-availability of pure drinking water. People of these villages say that though drinking water is being supplied to the villages through a 34.25-km long pipe built under a Rs 453.54 lakh water supply scheme of the Central Government, breakages in the pipe contaminate the water and people don’t get the pure water for drinking.

CHENNAI: In a bid to focus on environmental sustainability and realise the objectives of Vision 2023, the environment and forest department’s draft state environment policy is looking at strategies to revamp and restructure the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, the Directorate of Environment and related institutions to make them participative and transparent in decision-making.

UN report rates Mumbai, Kolkata as below average

Three big cities — Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore — have been rated below average compared to other mega cities in Asia-Pacific in terms of keeping pollution levels in check, said a report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Delhi is the only Indian city featured in the average category. The Asia-Pacific Human Development Report 2012 titled One Planet to Share: Sustaining Human Progress in a Changing Climate today came out with a green ranking of 22 cities in the Asia-Pacific

As the Supreme Court continues to grill the civic agencies, the increasing ‘contamination load’ at Rawal Lake has pushed up the purification cost of drinking water to Rs70 million per year.

Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) would usually allocate Rs50 million for treating water at Rawal Lake before supplying it to consumers but the cost has soared to Rs70 million — Rs10 million annually — since the apex court took suo motu notice of contamination in the lake in 2010.

A symbolic four-member people’s tribunal on Keenjhar Lake has urged the departments of fisheries, irrigation, wildlife and tourism to play their due role to protect the lake.

Led by environmentalist Samiul Zaman, the tribunal held its proceedings organised by the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) at the lake on Tuesday.

KOCHI: The state government will allocate Rs 750 crore, apart from the Rs 200 crore allotted under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, to solve the water woes in the district, said Water Resources Minister P J Joseph here on Monday.

Speaking after a high-level meeting convened to sort out various key issues, the minister said that together, the projects would provide 290 MLD of water apart from the 240 MLD supplied now. “It has been learned that leaks and breakages in the pipeline are leading to widespread contamination of potable water here.