Central to the achievement of the Agenda for Sustainable Development is an adequate, equitably distributed and fully supported health workforce. Nurses are the largest occupational group and represent an indispensable force with which to combat inequities in access to health services and progress towards health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while …
Village Hatiyaniki. Fifteen-odd people have gathered to discuss water harvesting activities in the vicinity. But there's just one face among the crowd, which is conspicuous enough to attract attention. Bereft of tact, his often-blunt interjections are received by a smirk from the other like-minded participants. But being unconventional only comes …
THINK saffron. Think sadhus and sants, communal frenzy, the Gujarat pogrom, of swords raised to the sky and the battle cry of kar sevaks and their adversaries renting a fresh spring morning. Now take a break. Picture a rishi meditating on the edge of a temple tank - say, a …
Modesty could very well be his second name. Seventy-one check dams, 55 percolation tanks, 33 ponds, 22 nullahs and 60 gully plugging - 241 rainwater harvesting projects in just nine months. But Pramukh Swami Maharaj is humility personified. His refrain: "This is not enough. We can do more." The mantle …
"I took the responsibility of spreading water harvesting because of two reasons. One, it would have ensured water in the scarce areas," he says. For equally important for him was the "opportunity it gave me to mend my ill-doings". Today, his work has brought about a sea-change in the attitude …
in its apparent haste to avoid public debate, the Goa government pushed through its groundwater law recently. Now, doubts have arisen about how effectively the regulation would plug prevalent problems such as rampant commercial exploitation and inequitable distribution of water. The state's villagers have for some time now been complaining …
In a landmark decision, the SC directed the Punjab government to expeditiously construct the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal to give effect to the Eradi Commission Award on sharing of river water between states. The SC ordered the Union government to take steps to construct the canal if the Punjab government …
the land of the mighty Chomolungma (Mt Everest) and the mother of many 8,000-metre-high snow-capped peaks, Nepal has no less than 6,000 odd fast-flowing rivers and a total annual outflow of 150 billion cubic metre (bcm). This "so-called colossal water potential of Nepal' is just a "socio-economic myth', according to …
Two home truths about irrigation departments across India: they are a fountainhead of corruption and run on huge losses. But July 2002 may prove to be a watershed for rural water supply management. Around that time, the Maharashtra government will hand over control of irrigation facilities to the state's farmers
This paper critically examines some narratives of water scarcity in Kutch, western India. It argues that images of dwindling rainfall and increasing drought largely serve to legitimize the controversial Sardar Sarovar dam and manufacture dominant perceptions concerning scarcity. This manufacture has naturalized scarcity in the region and largely benefits powerful …
This paper deals with how urban Indian households obtain water for their daily requirements. The link between economic status and access allows the analysis of issues such as water sharing, sole access, ability to pay, need for improvements, etc. The authors also put forth a strategy for levying user charges …
What does a common person do when confronted with a water shortage? Well B K Roy Burman, an anthropologist from Delhi's Chittaranjan Park, went on a fast for two days to protest against the problem. He demanded a more equitable and transparent pattern for the distribution of water by the …
Sources once considered renewable are diminishing rapidly. Water is one element which, is declining in the face of human onslaught. India's historic billionth baby has not led the government to take concrete measures to control this rapid population growth. Jabalpur is located in the heart of Madhya Pradesh and lies …
Last year the police fired upon people protesting against government inaction in dealing with the water crisis in Falla village of Jamnagar district. This fortnight, the story repeated itself in Rajkot. Eight people were injured when police intervened to stop protesters from immolating themselves. A people's action group called Deshpremi …
the inhabitants of Zimapan, a district in Mexico, consume water contaminated with arsenic (as), a poisonous chemical. But, a remedy may be locally available to remove the contamination. About half of the water supply samples tested by Mexico's National Water Commission in the region contained arsenic concentrations above current World …
this monumental book is a fascinating analysis and documentation of the development of urban sanitation infrastructure in the us . It takes one through an illuminating journey spanning almost 500 years from the urban epidemics of the early 1500s to the debates around waste incinerators in the 1980s and beyond. …
One third of Mount Kilimanjaro's ice fields have completely melted in the last two decades and the rest of the mountain's ice could disappear by 2015, says Lonnie Thompson, a professor at the us -based Ohio State University, who made an aerial survey of the mountain's peak. He attributed the …
rajasthan farmers will not get water for irrigation purposes after March 15, 2001. The state irrigation ministry has recently issued a circular to this effect. The decision will affect people living in six districts. The state government alleges that the Punjab government has reduced Rajasthan's share of water from the …
if one finds air pollution on normal days choking, then January 2, 2001 must have been a nightmare. As the northern electricity grid broke down, seven states of north India plunged into darkness. With water supplies cut, telephone lines down and disrupted railway services, generators in all shapes and sizes, …
The Haleji lake plays host to over 100,000 migratory water fowls of over 230 species during winters. The lake is threatened with extinction due to a fall in water level and weeds. Earlier, the level was maintained by the Karachi Water and Sewage Board as it provided the city with …
