Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of India

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Murugan
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of I

Post by Murugan »

Seems GoI is very serious about cleaning rivers

PIB releases

Plan to Make Major Rivers Pollution Free

The Government is implementing the centrally sponsored scheme of National River Conservation Plan (NRCP). It covers identified polluted stretches of 39 rivers in 182 towns spread over 20 States. The major rivers covered under the Plan include Ganga, Yamuna, Gomti, Damodar, Satluj, Krishna, Musi, Cauveri and Godavari besides others. Pollution abatement schemes are taken up under the Plan on a cost sharing basis between Centre and States. The works include; Interception and Diversion to capture the raw sewage flowing into the river through open drains and diverting them for treatment in Sewage treatment plants (STP), Electric crematoria and Improved Wood crematoria, Low Cost Sanitation works and, River Front Development. An amount of Rs.3890 crore has been released till December, 2010 by the Central Government and sewage treatment capacity of 4064 mld (million litres per day) has been created so far.

Conservation of rivers is an ongoing and collective effort of the Central and State Governments. River conservation projects such as creation of civic infrastructure for sewage management and disposal are also being implemented under other central schemes, such as Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns, as well as under State sector schemes.

The Minister of State for Environment and Forests (I/C), Shri Jairam Ramesh gave this information in a written reply to a question by Shri P. Rajeeve in Rajya Sabha today.

KP
(Release ID :71038)

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Sources of Pollution in Ganga
The pollution load on rivers including Ganga has increased over the years due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. Abstraction of water for irrigation, drinking, industrial use, power etc. compounds the challenge. Disposal of untreated/partially treated sewage by the cities and towns is the major source of pollution in the river, constituting about 75-80% of the pollution loads by volume. As per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), 2760 mld (million litres per day) of sewage is generated by the cities and towns along the river. Industrial effluents and other non-point sources of pollution like disposal of dead bodies and animal carcasses, open defecation, cattle wallowing, agricultural runoff etc., add to the pollution loads.

Conservation of rivers is an ongoing and collective effort of the Central and State Governments. The Central Government is implementing the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) for pollution abatement through implementation of works like interception and diversion of sewage, setting up of sewage treatment plants, sanitation facilities etc. Under this Plan, Rs.887 crore has been spent so far and a sewage treatment capacity of 1064 mld has been created. Action is taken by the CPCB and the State Pollution Control Boards under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974 against industries not complying with effluent discharge standards.

The Central Government has set up the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) in February, 2009 as an empowered authority for conservation of the river Ganga with a river basin approach. The Authority has decided that under Mission Clean Ganga it will be ensured that by 2020 no untreated municipal sewage and industrial effluents flow into Ganga. Pollution abatement schemes worth about Rs.2476 crores have been sanctioned under NGRBA so far. River conservation projects such as creation of civic infrastructure for sewage management and disposal are also being implemented under other central schemes, such as Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns, as well as under State sector schemes.

The Minister of State for Environment and Forests (I/C), Shri Jairam Ramesh gave this information in a written reply to a question by Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad and Shri Ramchandra Prasad Singh in Rajya Sabha today.


**********


KP
(Release ID :71040)
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of I

Post by Airavat »

Water harvesting in the Shivaliks

Even a layman like me was worried about the future of the Shivaliks and its inhabitants quarter of a century ago, when I along with some wise colleagues founded a voluntary organization J&K Paryavaran Sanstha in 1985 and conducted a 250 Kms long "Save The Shivaliks" pad yatra (foot march) from Ravi to Rajouri Tawi. Shivaliks in Jammu region get 50 inches (1250 mm) rainfall annually. We don't hold even one inch of rain before it is out of the Shivaliks area. Even the two natural lakes of Mansar and Surinsar are depleting.

The only answer to this problem is to hold/harvest water for use when we need it for which our ancestors had dug 500 ponds between Ravi and Rajouri Tawi, most of which have been encroached, filled up and are lying in disuse. As a result of this phenomenon the ground water level has gone down by many feet. With the grace of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji and Shri Amarnath Ji we are getting almost 1 crore pilgrims including some tourists every year.......We have nothing to offer them except perhaps 'Bhallas' at Samba whereas every tourist wants to buy local products. It is possible if we grow Phalsa (Asiatica Grewia), Aloevera, Amla as these plants/herbs need much less water which must be arranged by renovating all the ponds lying in disuse, providing check dams and water harvesting structures through water shed programmes.

It may be mentioned here that many other States are creating such income generating activities like Mango Papad, Amla/Aloevera Juice in Uttar Pardesh promoted by Swami Ram Dev Ji and as I saw in Maharashtra and Goa where small packets of 100 gm of Amla, Mango, Kraunda, Kaju are selling for Rs 40 which means at Rs 400 per kg. Similarly Kokam Juice like Phalsa is selling at Rs 100 per ltr in plastic bottles. Shivaliks have much greater potential if harnessed properly through water harvesting structures.
Image
Basantar River near Samba in Jammu region

Although Ravi is an Indian River and so are its five tributaries Ujh, Tarnah, Bein, Basantar and Devak yet none of them have been harnessed by our State. Nor they are affected by Indus Water Treaty and yet we are deprived of their flows. Strangely even our two main canals, Ranbir and Partap, are closed for four months every year while Jammu region is starving for water.

By Maj Gen Goverdhan Singh Jamwal
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of I

Post by SureshP »

X-post
Portable solar device creates potable water
March 22, 2011


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Jon Liow

By harnessing the power of the sun, a Monash University graduate has designed a simple, sustainable and affordable water-purification device, which has the potential to help eradicate disease and save lives.

The Solarball, developed as Mr Jonathan Liow’s final year project during his Bachelor of Industrial Design, can produce up to three litres of clean water every day. The spherical unit absorbs sunlight and causes dirty water contained inside to evaporate. As evaporation occurs, contaminants are separated from the water, generating drinkable condensation. The condensation is collected and stored, ready for drinking.

Liow’s design was driven by a need to help the 900 million people around the world who lack access to safe drinking water. Over two million children die annually from preventable causes, triggered largely by contaminated water. It is an increasing problem in developing nations due to rapid urbanisation and population growth.

Image

‘After visiting Cambodia in 2008, and seeing the immense lack of everyday products we take for granted, I was inspired to use my design skills to help others,’ Mr Liow said.

Mr Liow’s simple but effective design is user-friendly and durable, with a weather-resistant construction, making it well suited to people in hot, wet, tropical climates with limited access to resources.

‘The challenge was coming up with a way to make the device more efficient than other products available, without making it too complicated, expensive, or technical,’ Mr Liow said.

Image

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Mr Liow, and a working prototype of his Solarball, was featured on ABC1’s ‘The New Inventors’. The product has been named as a finalist in the 2011 Australian Design Awards - James Dyson Award. It will also be exhibited at the Milan International Design Fair (Salone Internazionale del Mobile) in April 2011.

Provided by Monash University
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of I

Post by Murugan »

Cut use of chemical fertilisers to save Yamuna: Ramesh

Environment and Wildlife minister meets Dikshit, Hooda to discuss ways to keep river healthy

Excessive algae in the Yamuna brought Union Minister for Environment and Wildlife Jairam Ramesh’s survey of the river to a brief halt on Sunday, prompting the minister to note the damage to the water body due to excessive use of chemical fertilisers in its neighbouring areas.

Now, the minister has asked for a notification under the Environment Protection Act, prohibiting the use of chemical fertilisers near Yamuna. This is part of a slew of measures announced by Ramesh for the “good health” of the river.

The Central Pollution Control Board has also been asked to set up an electronic pollution monitoring system at Palla, Badarpur and Wazirabad.

Delhi Jal Board officials are hopeful that the directions issued on Sunday will have a positive impact in reducing pollution and contamination in the river.

“The minister has asked the Delhi Pollution Control Board to issue a notification prohibiting the use of chemical fertilisers on the river banks,” said Ramesh Negi, CEO of the Jal Board.

Ramesh also met with the chief ministers of Delhi and Haryana, along with senior DJB officials, on the issue of pollution in Yamuna. He is learnt to have given “positive” leads to the two neighbouring states on reducing pollution, also assuring a re-look at the Renuka Dam project to provide the river with an up-storage dam to tap monsoon flow.

“Haryana has been asked to set up a sewage treatment plant (STP) at Panipat and link all its pollution-generating industries to the common effluent treatment plant (CEPT). This may take close to six months,” a senior DJB official said.

At present, only 35 of the 512 polluting industries in Panipat are linked to the CETP.

For Haryana’s Drain 6, which releases all domestic sewerage into the river, the minister has demanded that an STP be set-up at the mouth of this drain. “He has also asked for an early completion of the parallel concrete channel from Munak to Wazirabad, which will automatically reduce the pollution levels in the river,” Negi said.

Ramesh also pumped in some hope for the much-debated Renuka Dam project.

“As per a Supreme Court ruling, the river must have 10 cubic metres of water flowing per second to ensure fresh water in the Yamuna. But most of the water dries up by the time it reaches Yamuna Nagar and Panipat, after it is released from Tajewala,” Negi said.

“There will be continuous monitoring of water pollution at Palla, where Yamuna enters Delhi from Haryana, and at Badarpur where Yamuna flows from Delhi back to into Haryana,” Ramesh said after the meeting at Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s residence.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/cut-u ... h/768098/1
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of I

Post by abhischekcc »

There is a much simpler and easier way to harvest water in dry areas during night time.

Take two large sheets of tough plastic (not solid though). Dig a hole in the ground (if one is not available), place one of the sheets in the hole, so that it becomes a sort of a container. Place the other over it like a cover, but leave a small opening for the air. Water will condense during the night on the top sheet and drop below.

This is what the Indian Army uses in the desert.
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of I

Post by Murugan »

Israels harvest water in a way little similar to above
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of I

Post by Lalmohan »

that is a 'standard' survival technique, can be used in deserts or at sea
you don't get much water, but its enough to keep you alive
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of I

Post by SureshP »

We are not talking here of survival techniques but a commercially available, technically well designed, easily portable, easy to setup and operate piece of kit that gives you 3 litres of very very clean water from undrinkable turbid and polluted water with no other energy input except sunlight.
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of I

Post by SureshP »

Human-powered drill for clean water in developing nations built by student engineers

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The contraption looks like a spear that impaled a wheel of fortune, but it does more than give contestants a chance to buy a vowel or solve the puzzle. The device is actually a human-powered drill built by a team of BYU engineering students, who hope it will help Tanzanians drill the 250 feet required to access clean drinking water.

Other water-drilling alternatives in the region either can’t dig deep enough or cost too much, sometimes upwards of $15,000. But the team’s device has the potential to drill a 150- to 250-foot-deep hole in a matter of days—all for about $2,000.

The drill was created for a year-long engineering capstone project that has students solving real engineering problems with real clients. The team created the drill for WHOLives.org, a nonprofit dedicated to providing clean water, better health and more opportunities to people living in impoverished communities. The organization is currently focusing its drilling efforts on Tanzania, but it has plans to expand its operations to other countries. The project is also co-sponsored by the Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology.

John Renouard, the co-founder of WHOLives.org, said this project is a sustainable way to impact people all over the world.

“People with great intentions often go over there and give stuff away, but sometimes it’s just a Band-Aid on a bigger injury,” he said. “But this could ultimately bring water to millions of people. The BYU team hit a home run.”

But that home run didn't come without its fair share of strikeouts. The team ran into some complications with their initial wood prototype, and they had to put in twice as many hours as required by the course to complete their final metal model.

The BYU team also had to operate within a number of strict parameters set by WHOlives.org so that the final product can be easily built and maintained in developing countries. The drill uses no gears or customized parts, and it can easily be taken apart, transported in the bed of a truck and reassembled within an hour.

The drill can be operated by four people. Three spin the wheel that turns the bit, and the fourth lifts the bit up and down when necessary to punch through tough spots. A water pump system removes the dirt from the six-inch-wide hole.

“At the beginning of the year we had a meeting with the sponsor, and he said that very rarely do you get an opportunity to work on a project that can change millions of lives,” said Nathan Toone, one of the student engineers who worked on the drill. “You forget that sometimes when you’re in the middle of working and setbacks and frustrations, but it’s really good to see it pay off. It has definitely paid off.”

Provided by Brigham Young University
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of I

Post by Murugan »

Strange!!!

20 lakh trees to be cut to restore Wullar lake

http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed ... 04918.aspx
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Post by Lalmohan »

sureshp, yes i know i have seen the device
i was refering to abhishek's note about desert survival
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Post by SwamyG »

Murugan wrote:Strange!!!

20 lakh trees to be cut to restore Wullar lake

http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed ... 04918.aspx
Sad to see so many trees go.... In the past humans depended on lakes and tanks for fresh water needs - especially if the habitat was near rivers. With rapid development and population increase these have been fast disappearing. I saw an old Madras map that had plenty of lanks and tanks; many of them are no more and Madras continues to experience water problems.
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of I

Post by Airavat »

reviving step wells
In the case of some step-wells, their water was likened to the holy water of the Ganges, thus giving them a spiritual dimension and making bathing in them a purification ritual. So if the concept was so successful, why is it that almost all such structures have dried up and are in disuse?

The blame for that has to be put on the British. Horrified by the fact that the unsanitary seeming step-wells were the common source of both drinking and bathing water, the British began establishing pipes, pumps and taps. Their objective was to keep out the guinea worm, a waterborne parasite, from drinking water. They succeeded all too well, and in doing so, ensured that step-wells became obsolete even for bathing purposes.

Modern-day India continues to use the British system without any change. However, with groundwater levels dropping alarmingly all over the country, maybe it is time to revisit the use of step-wells to improve groundwater. Remember, step-well construction was done with ground water enhancement in mind: the rainwater running off into the bottom of the well percolated down into the ground till it reached an impermeable layer of soil.

While the soil absorbed the silt, what was left above was clear water. The wishing wells of yesterday may not be sources of drinking water nor do they have religious significance, but in their subterranean recesses may lie a solution to many water shortage problems.
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Post by Haresh »

Fog Catchers Bring Water to Parched Villages

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... -missions/
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Post by Murugan »

“You are the biggest polluter of the Yamuna,” Supreme Court tells Municipal Corporation of Delhi (mcd)
Counsel drew the Court’s ire after he submitted that unlike other agencies the MCD has no role to play in the de-pollution drive.

Terming the Municipal Corporation of Delhi “the biggest polluter” of the Yamuna, the Supreme Court on Wednesday rebuked the civic body for saying that it has nothing to do with the pollution of the river and warned it that all its three Commissioners will have to appear before the court if it persists with its stand.

“You (MCD) are the biggest polluter. You allow all domestic and industrial effluents into the river. Yet you take the stand that the MCD has no role to play!” observed a Bench of Justices A. K. Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar.


The Court told counsel to take a clear stand on the efforts being made by the MCD along with other civic agencies to clean the river.

“You have been polluting the river and still being cool about it. If you continue to take the stand then all your three Commissioners will have to be present here at the next hearing and explain,” the Bench told MCD counsel Sanjib Sen.

Counsel drew the Court’s ire after he submitted that unlike other agencies the MCD has no role to play in the de-pollution drive.

On February 27, the Court had asked the Centre and the Governments of Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh to furnish information on expenditure incurred by them for cleaning the Yamuna.

It had asked the Central Water Pollution Control Board to take samples of water of the river and submit a report on its cleanliness.

“The Central Water Pollution Control Board shall take samples of water of river Yamuna from the States of Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh till Agra and submit their report within four weeks,” the Bench had said.

It directed all the authorities related to the work of controlling the river’s pollution to give details of the steps taken by them in this regard. The Court had issued the direction taking suo motu cognisance of an article on pollution in the Yamuna published in a national daily in 1994.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Del ... 630596.ece
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Water Conservation by People of Mathura Village

http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/how-a-vi ... 75721.html
Mathura: Workers excavating a holy pond in a village at the periphery of Mathura have discovered what is claimed as the first iron sheet used to prevent seepage of river water. Should the right moves be made, the area could well be a potential UNESCO World Heritage Site.

During excavation of the ancient Ram Taal, they unearthed at a depth of 15 feet a two-inch thick 4.5 feet broad, 180 feet long and 120 feet wide iron sheet, at the base of the kund (holy pond).


This probably is the first ever iron sheet recovered from any water body in the country. Since the area lies adjacent to the Yamuna river, the sheet could have possibly used to prevent the seepage of water inland, says Vineet Narain, a well-known journalist and chairman of The Braj Foundation that is engaged in digging the kund for restoration.

...

Dubey feels that several experiments would have to be conducted before arriving at any conclusion.

...

Virendra Singh, a professor at the Government Degree College, Kushinagar, a resident of the Sunrakh village where the iron sheet was found and who has been studying the archaeology of Mathura for a long time, says: “The discovery of a huge iron sheet from this kund is definitely a major finding, which should be subjected to carbon-dating. It is important because even in the remotest areas of Mathura, there are no iron ore sources.” However, five highways passed through Mathura, during the Kushan period.

Vineet Narain, who in the mid-1990s had first pointed to the scourge of money laundering to and from India, said that since the river Yamuna flows close to this site and commercial boats used to pass through this area, it is probable that iron was procured from a far-off place and the sheet was created through molding.

“This was done to avoid the possible damage caused by seepage of Yamuna water,” Narain said.

He that some archaeologists from Bangalore have taken samples of the finding for further study. They are of the opinion that this kund is 2,900 years old.

The residents of Sunrakh village are thrilled with the finding. It was on their repeated written requests that the Braj Foundation undertook this job and they now feel that once developed, this site, like Lothal, Harappa and Kalibangan, will become a World Heritage Site that will bring them both glory and generate employment through the visits of tourists.

Narain recounted the pitfalls that had been encountered before the Braj Foundation got access to the site.

“The site of this kund had become a flat agricultural field and was liberally encroached on by builders and other vested interests. It was a herculean task to reclaim this land, which we could do only with the help of villagers and the local administration. However, two acres of land of Ram Taal, according to the revenue records, is still under illegal possession, which needs to be reclaimed for us by the Mathura district administration for the complete development of the site.”

The Braj Foundation has been engaged for the last 10 years in the restoration of dozens of kunds, forests, heritage buildings and other sites in the area.

“Along with Ram Taal there are over 40 other kunds which have been excavated. This entire operation of de-silting the water bodies and conserving more than 300,000 cubic meters of water” is being done with the financial support of businessman Kamal Morarka, the chairman of the Mumbai-based Gannon Dunkerley Group and a minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office in the early 1990s, Narain said.
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ITBP rafting team traverses Ganga’s entire length, collects water samples
TNN Jul 12, 2012, 03.47AM IST

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes ... er-samples
NEW DELHI: A 2,525-km rafting expedition, covering the entire length of the river Ganga, recently completed by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is being keenly looked at by the environment ministry.

The ITBP, which organized the expedition as part of its golden jubilee celebrations, took samples of the river water every 50 km along the journey from Gaumukh to Gangasagar. These samples have now been sent to a laboratory to check the level of pollution in the river.


An ITBP official said, "The environment ministry has shown interest in our expedition and has asked for the lab test report to get a third party view of the pollution in the river."

The "never-done-before" expedition comprised a 20-member river rafting team led by DIG SS Mishra and traversed through five states and 30 cities in 58 days. Along the way, it also created awareness about the need to keep Ganga clean.

Mishra said that while the Ganga was cleanest in the upper reaches of Uttarakhand, it was dirtiest in UP and Bihar. Deputy commandant Tarun Kumar, who was part of the team, said, "At Ghatiya Ghat in Farrukhabad, we had to literally wade through at least a hundred bodies floating in shallow water."

As part of the celebrations, the force also took a unique Mt Everest expedition where a 23-member team under DIG Prem Singh scaled the mountain with six personnel reaching the summit and then skiing down. They also cleared enormous garbage on the way.

Congratulating the force, home minister P Chidambaram said, "It is the toughest force in the country and we are proud of their achievements. It is also heartening to see officers accompanying jawans as it shows leadership and leading by example."

Sources said DIG Prem Singh had scaled Mt Everest twice earlier and had gone on the latest expedition despite suffering from typhoid
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Post by Murugan »

Water Management Initiatives by Govt of Gujarat

http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/ ... nt&print=1
Chief Minister Narendra Modi has led the State in initiating water harvesting projects that have been great successes, writes Nilesh Shukla

Under the leadership of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Gujarat has emerged as a model to emulate in water management. Gujarat is the only State where groundwater levels have considerably increased over the last eight years. This is seen in the data put out by the Central Ground Water Board.

Over 5.5 lakh water management structures have been created over the last 10 years, which include check dams, boribands and khet talavadis. Besides this, 4.5 lakh hectares of land covered under micro-irrigation schemes have resulted in the highest decadal agricultural growth rate of 10.97 per cent in the period 2000-01 to 2009-10.

Gujarat is among the front-runners in the country in taking up new techniques in water harvesting, water harnessing and water management. One of the remotest villages of Gujarat, named Eval, in Patan district, has reported wonderful results in a mere one year’s time, to become a model village for the rest of India.

Once a parched village where farmers could only dream of a lowly pearl millet, Eval today has every farmer cultivating castor and cumin. The average productivity of cumin varies from six to eight quintals/ hectare, while for castor it is 25-30 quintals/ hectare.

Overcoming a challenging situation, where 20 per cent of the State’s area had 71 per cent of water resource and the rest of the area had had to do with 29 per cent of water resource, Gujarat speeded up rainwater harvesting, replenishing the rapidly depleting groundwater levels which led to water security and sustainability.

Mr Modi has taken water resources management to the people’s doorstep, down to the village-level through Water and Sanitation Management Organisation’s participatory distribution system — the United Nations award-winning initiative of the State.

Gujarat State Watershed Management Agency is the nodal agency to implement the Integrated Watershed Management Programme across Gujarat. The main aims of the IWMP are to restore the ecological balance by harnessing, conserving and developing degraded natural resources such as soil, vegetative cover and water.

The outcomes proposed are prevention of soil run-off, regeneration of natural vegetation, rain-water harvesting and recharging of the groundwater table. This is expected to enable multi-cropping and the introduction of diverse agro-based activities which help to provide sustainable livelihoods to the people residing in the watershed area.

Mr Modi’s vision of Jal Shakti to Jal Kranti has led to watershed development, construction of check dams, farm ponds and methods to obstruct the flow of water through cement-filled bags, spearheading a people’s movement and showing a futuristic approach to water harvesting and conserving water for the future.

Right from the planning phase of the project, scientific tools have been used to ensure accuracy and efficiency. The approach followed for planning involves: Creation, development and management of geo-spatial data base depicting present conditions of land, water and vegetation with respect to watershed under different ownerships at village level; compatible socio-economic aspects and their analysis; and historical perspective land-water treatment of the area. The working module developed by the Gujarat State Watershed Management Agency has also been widely appreciated.

A total of 21.34 lakh hectares with an outlay of Rs 2769.72 crore have been covered under IWMP for the implementation of the project. For effective monitoring, Geographical Information System has been put to use.

Processes have been standardised and, accordingly, technical manual, capacity building manual, human resource manual, livelihood manual and operational guidelines have been framed and operationalised.

It has been made mandatory that these projects converge with other schemes and programmes to bridge the fund gap and remove duplication in work. Convergence worth Rs 283.02 crore had been taken up for the projects sanctioned in 2009-10.

For the first time in the watershed programme, livelihood activities have been included to extend benefits to landless and asset-less people of the project area. A livelihood action plan is being implemented across the State. Batch-wise budgetary allocation for livelihood is Rs 215 crore, Rs 180 crore and Rs 185 crore for projects sanctioned in the year 2009-10, 2010-11 and also 2011-12 respectively.

The outcome of the watershed programme has been impressive. A study conducted by the Gujarat Institute of Development Research for the National Institute for Rural Development recently has provided the following impacts of Watershed Development Programme: Around 90 per cent of watersheds report increase in ground water by more than one metre; 88 per cent of watersheds have reported reduction in soil loss by more than 25 per cent.

Also, 85 per cent of watersheds have reported more than 100 per cent increase in cropping intensity; 60 per cent watersheds have reported an increase in cereal yield by more than 50 per cent; and, 62 per cent reported increase in yield of more than 25 per cent of cash crops; 93 per cent of watersheds have reported an increase in employment in terms of labour days.


The initiatives being taken by the Narendra Modi-led Government in Gujarat in watershed management programme have been recognised by even the Union Government. The Prime Minister’s award for excellence in public administration conferred on Civil Service Day 2012, went to Gujarat.

The success of water management programmes in Gujarat is a lesson for all States.
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of I

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Murugan
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Anupam Mishra on TED (Mysore)

Water Harvesting in Golden Desert, Simply Brilliant

http://video.ted.com/talk/podcast/2009I ... I-480p.mp4
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of I

Post by RamaY »

India has ~1900cu.km of renewable water resources. This works out to be >9000 gallons daily per capita availability for all 1.3billion Indians. USA per capita daily consumption is 70 gallons of water. That means Indian renewable resources are 15times the need.

Of course part of it gets evaporated, part of it used for agriculture, rivers etc.,

The fundamental point is we have sufficient, if not abundant, renewable water resources. The problem is unbalanced and unplanned management.

My vision
- divide entire nation into 50km hexagonal grid.
- each section to have a 1TMC capacity water reservoir.
- each towa/village to have at least 10-20 acres reservoir
- all major reservoirs are connected to national water grid, in conjunction to river linking project
- each major reservoir is augmented with atleast 500MW solar/wind power plant.
- all small reservoirs are connected to local grid reservoir.

All grids connecting national reserve forest areas are designated natural conservation nodes and sufficient forest paths are developed so the animals/birds migrate without any issue.

Any national/state highway crossing these forest nodes must be an elevated highway with as many under road passages as possible (if not a complete flyover)
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of I

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One of the little known facts about Bengaluru is that we had (still have) a couple of rivers (or rivulets) flowing through the proper city. Sadly, these have been turned into drains during the past 30-40 years. These rivers are the tributaries of the Arkavathy river which in turn joins the Kaveri.

1) Vrishabhavathi -
This river starts from the one of the oldest areas of Bangalore. Basavanagudi. It is said to take birth from Basava (Nandi) statues tail. There was a lake once here (heard it from dad). As is the case with many smaller rivers, they actually flow between many lakes. In this case too, we had the Basava lake and then onto Kempambudi lake. From this point on the river was quite big I hear and flowed through various parts of south Bangalore through several lakes before reaching the Arkavathy near Kengeri.

Current situation - Basava lake was closed 30 years and now we have the bms hospital on the lake bed. Kempambudi is all but filled with garbage. The river itself has become a drain thanks to lots of industries near the Mysore road and surrounding area emptying into the river. The river still exists, although fully polluted.

2) Kumudvathi -
This river starts from the Shivagange hills on Tumkur road. It is one of the sources of Tippagundanahalli reservoirwhich supplies drinking water to Bangalore. It flows through areas like Hesarghatta bfore joining Arkavathi at Tippagundanahalli.

Current situation - River is all but dry. Even the river bed has been encroached upon. Art of Living has taken up the Kumudvathi Rejuvenation project and they are doing some work on clearing the river bed and building channels.

We have so much of potential to rejuvenate these rivers but no one gives an ifff.
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Pranay
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of I

Post by Pranay »

India's dying mother - A good read on the Clean Ganga initiative... the many issues at hand and some of those trying to address the situation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt ... 404cc12a39
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of I

Post by Vriksh »

We need about 1500-2000 cu.m/capita/yr of water to grow food.
Urban Water requirement (bathing, washing, flushing, drinking) as per norm is approximately 135 L/capita/day ~50 cu.m/capita/year.

India today has less than 1200 cu.m/capita/year (as per UN 2005 is 220 cu.m/capita/year which shockingly low ) of water storage capacity (inclusive of surface and underground): we are at a stage when the India cannot grow its own food. China is making massive efforts to bolster its own water storage capacities which in 2005 was around 2000 cu.m/capita/year by diverting/storing himalayan rivers to its hinterlands. USA and Russia in comparison has 6000 cu.m/capita/year

dated report from 2005
http://www.unep.org/dewa/vitalwater/article91.html
RamaY wrote:India has ~1900cu.km of renewable water resources. This works out to be >9000 gallons daily per capita availability for all 1.3billion Indians. USA per capita daily consumption is 70 gallons of water. That means Indian renewable resources are 15times the need.
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of India

Post by SaiK »

Image
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of India

Post by A_Gupta »

Rajendra Singh's gloomy outlook on water in India:
https://in.reuters.com/article/us-autos ... NKCN1BX24Y
Water activist Rajendra Singh, who won the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2001 and the Stockholm Water Prize in 2015, has been promoting community-led conservation efforts in rural Indian areas where water is scarce.

Singh, popularly known as the "waterman" of India, spoke to Reuters about how lack of awareness, government apathy and corruption are making matters worse.
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of India

Post by Dipanker »

19% of Indians drink water with lethal levels of arsenic
NEW DELHI: About 239 million people across 153 districts in 21 states drink water that contains unacceptably high levels of arsenic. In effect, they are being slowly poisoned. Calculations based on information provided by the water resources ministry in response to a question in the Lok Sabha reveal that 65% of Assam's population, or about 21 million people, is drinking arsenic-contaminated water, while it's 60% in Bihar and 44% in West Bengal.
In terms of absolute numbers, however, Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of people, over 70 million, exposed to arsenic-contaminated water.
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Post by Vasu »

The massive STP construction and upgradation drive that this Government has undertaken in the Gangetic belt will have a significant positive impact on the health of the Ganges river system, and I feel it isn't talked about as much as it should. Similarly, the massive drive to make villages and towns on the riverbanks OFD-free will also have a strong impact. I believe the crackdown on polluting industries is also delivering.

Nitin Gadkari Instructs Officers to Complete All STP Projects in Time
Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Road Transport and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari chaired a review meeting of the ongoing STP Projects in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal in New Delhi yesterday.

Bihar has 20 sanctioned STP projects in ten towns including 11 in Patna, and one each in Buxar, Barh, Mokama, Naugachia, Sultanganj, Hajipur, Begusaria, Munger and Bhagalpur. The state has a projected sewage generation of 606 MLD by 2035. The existing sewage treatment capacity is 124 MLD. The sanctioned projects will add 538 MLD of sewage treatment capacity. Projects of 216 MLD capacity are ongoing while projects worth capacity of 322 MLD are at various stages of tendering.In Patna, the 11 STP projects worth Rs 3237.69 crore will create total of 350 MLD sewage treatment capacity and lay down 1140.26 km of sewerage lines. The expected sewage load for the city by 2035 is 320 MLD. Once these projects are completed, no sewage water from Patna will flow into river Ganga. These projects will ensure that no untreated water goes into Ganga in Patna and sewer lines reach every household in the town. STP projects will also be taken up in Danapur, Phulwari Sharif, Sonepur, Chhapra, Fatuah, Bakhtiyarpur, Barauni and Kahelgaon in the current year.

West Bengal has 13 sanctioned STP projects in Gayespur, Kalyani, Halishahar, Bhatpara, Barrackpore, Budge-Budge, Berhampore, Nabadwip, Kamarhatim, Baranagar, Howrah, Bally and Kolkata. The state has a projected sewage generation of 1638 MLD by 2035. The existing sewage treatment capacity is 548 MLD. The sanctioned projects will add 295 MLD of sewage treatment capacity . Projects worth 80 MLD capacity are ongoing and projects worth 215 MLD are at various stages of tendering.Jharkhand has two sanctioned STP projects at Sahibganj and Rajmahal. The state has a projected sewage generation of 16 MLD by 2035. The ongoing project of Sahibganj has a capacity to treat 12 MLD while the project of Rajmahal with a capacity of 3.5 MLD is under tendering process.The progress of 39 Ghats and Crematoria projects on the bank of Ganga were also reviewed and officials have been asked to finish all projects by October 2018. In addition, the status of 37 polluting industrial units in Bihar and 41 industrial units in West Bengal situated on the banks of Ganga were also reviewed. While 40 industrial units in the two states have complied with the norms, 9 of these units have been closed. Closure notice has been issued to 10 units and show cause notice to 19 units.
I have no faith in the media's constant charges that things aren't moving forward on Namami Gange. The action on ground is significant.
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of India

Post by tandav »

Up... since water is a major issue nowadays...
tandav
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Post by tandav »

RamaY wrote:India has ~1900cu.km of renewable water resources. This works out to be >9000 gallons daily per capita availability for all 1.3billion Indians. USA per capita daily consumption is 70 gallons of water. That means Indian renewable resources are 15times the need.

Of course part of it gets evaporated, part of it used for agriculture, rivers etc.,

The fundamental point is we have sufficient, if not abundant, renewable water resources. The problem is unbalanced and unplanned management.

My vision
- divide entire nation into 50km hexagonal grid.
- each section to have a 1TMC capacity water reservoir.
- each towa/village to have at least 10-20 acres reservoir
- all major reservoirs are connected to national water grid, in conjunction to river linking project
- each major reservoir is augmented with atleast 500MW solar/wind power plant.
- all small reservoirs are connected to local grid reservoir.

All grids connecting national reserve forest areas are designated natural conservation nodes and sufficient forest paths are developed so the animals/birds migrate without any issue.

Any national/state highway crossing these forest nodes must be an elevated highway with as many under road passages as possible (if not a complete flyover)
The water reservoir idea proposed is very much needed... In the past South India had extensive tank networks (most of the tanks were temple tanks) which used to be filled by over flowing rivers in monsoon and provided both flood control and silt control. Each year in the dry season the silt in these water tanks were desilted by the villagers under the instruction of the kings and applied to local fields. The tanks were unlined and used to recharge ground water in the entire region so that irrigation a simple water wheel run by cattle (from open wells having water at depth around 10-20 ft ) was practiced. This sustainable method of rain water harvesting made us one of the most productive agricultural civilizations around. Similar systems were followed in many other parts of India which probably effectively interlinked rivers by a capillary network type system of water channels and village ponds.

There used to be a group of people around Chennai running an organization for cataloging the traditional sciences and technologies of India called PPST (Patriotic People Oriented Science and Technology) which had written about all these aspects.

https://openlibrary.org/works/OL3723890 ... s_in_India
tandav
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of India

Post by tandav »

I also want to point out a feature of India that has perhaps been lost. We all know that in stories such as Ramayana and Mahabharat it is repeatedly obvious that South bank of Yamuna and Ganga was a massive forest (Dandakaranya). Over time this forest has disappeared and replaced by agriculture. This had happened even before the British had come to India. Now conversion of forests to Agricultural land had far reaching consequences. It is well known that forest create their own ecosystem of rain. Evening convective rain over tropical forests is a well know feature. trees are one of the most efficient evaporators of water (3-5 times as much as a water pond via evaporation per sqm). Forests evaporated massive amounts of water from the aquifers below griound during the day which used to condense and fall down locally during the night. As long as there was a sufficient amount of forest acting as this massive water pump automatically feeding the clouds, farmers nearby did not need to irrigate their lands. They just had to till land and every day a gentle rain would provide the water the crops needed. Monsoons only provided a top up of water every year and rivers used to run full (charged by ground water that the forest canopy harvested. By converting too much of forest to agricultural land we ourselves killed the golden goose and started depending more and more on monsoons to grow crops.

To restore the balance and improve water security we need to have a certain ratio of trees to crops to recreate the natural rainfall engine once again. I would say 30% of land must be forested or atleast replaced with trees and 60% can be agricultural, rest to be used for habitation.
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Post by tandav »

Has anyone done any analysis of what is the residence time of rainwater falling on India. How long it takes to reach the sea? We need to ensure that Rainwater spends more time in India (lakes, ponds, under aquifers etc) rather than reaching the sea fast. More time it stays the more benefit it will have for agro-forestry
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jaysimha
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Post by jaysimha »

http://pib.nic.in/PressReleaseIframePag ... ID=1576149
Ministry of Jal Shakti
Flow of raw sewage into Ganga will be stopped by 2022-Shekhawat
Assocham promises to be an active partner to avert water crisis in India
Posted On: 28 JUN 2019 3:02PM by PIB Delhi
(Release ID: 1576149)
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of India

Post by A Nandy »

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cit ... 982807.cms
Karnataka mulls 5-yr ban on housing construction in Bengaluru due to water crisis
But the..then...what about the famous deposit taking economic model of the builders! no more launching new projects and taking money like "fixed deposits" for 5 year maturity :|
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Re: Preserving, Enhancing and Improving Water Resources of India

Post by Mukesh.Kumar »

X-Posring from Indian Agriculture thread.
Mukesh.Kumar wrote:Great to see the Indian government taking steps towards sustainable agriculture in the Budget.
Presenting her maiden Budget in the Parliament, said the government would focus on “Zero Budget” farming.

This is in keeping with the suggestions of the Economic Survey 2019 to shift from green revolution to green methods.

It is also a tribute to the agricultural scientist Subhash Palekar, who invented ‘Zero Budget’ farming based on natural farming principles.
The announcement is a reflection of what the Economic Survey, tabled in the Parliament on 4 July, said. The survey, dealing on agriculture, suggested a shift from “green revolution” to “green methods”. There are very good reasons why the government is looking to shift from “green revolution”, which has led to self-sufficiency in the country’s food grain production, after it gained acceptance in the 1960s.

The “green revolution” focussed more on agricultural inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides, and on cultivating water-intensive crops. For the 1960s, it could have been the right choice but not anymore. Rapid and rampant use of chemical fertilisers has led to the deterioration of soil health and nutrients, particularly in states like Punjab and Haryana that were at the forefront of the “green revolution”.

Being heavily dependent on external inputs resulted in production and productivity stagnating. Thus, returns to the farmers were not commensurate with the investments they were making. These developments had led to the thinking that the “green revolution” has perhaps had some fallout too.

Moreover, the acute water shortage that some parts of the country is facing has opened the eyes of the government and pushed them into promoting crops that consume less water. Extensive cultivation of water-intensive crops such as paddy and sugarcane is being questioned. The government made a deft move this year by announcing higher minimum support price for hard crops such as coarse cereals that consume less water.

Therefore, it is natural that the government is looking for a return to the roots through natural farming. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), an arm of the United Nations, terms “Zero Budget” farming as a grassroots peasants movement that has spread across various states in India.
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Post by Gyan »

We have to move towards more pulses, oil seeds, rough cereals and decrease focus towards sugarcane, cotton & rice
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