Pollutants to bind roads
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Family drip irrigation
Netafim, an Israeli trickle irrigation
manufacturer, has introduced advanced ‘Family Drip’ irrigation systems for 900
families in Niger. It was initially developed for the average Chinese family living in
semi-arid terrain. At present, thousands of such systems are operational in China.Latest
drip irrigation technology is adapted to variable plot sizes and consists of standard
emitters, pipes and filter equipment. It does not require pumps and electricity, as it
works at low head and water is pressurised from a tank.
Water leak detection
Water leak noise loggers from Palmer
Environmental, Sweden, have dramatically increased the speed and efficiency of detecting
leaks in the water pipes. Installed in the Kiruna town of Sweden, it completes four
night’s work done by three engineers within six hours by single operator. The sensors
are deployed at pipe fittings, which transmit data to a portable receiver called
Patroller. These sensors are highly sensitive, thus reducing the leakage by 20 per cent. |
The chemically contaminated solid, solid wastes
and lake silt can safely replace sand and concrete as the first layer of road. Before
usage, these pollutants just need to be stabilised with gypsum or through vegetative
methods," proposes B V Subba Rao, the president of the Centre for Resource Education
(CRE), a Hyderabad-based research institute.In Japan the technique has been successfully
applied.
CRE’s findings once approved by the
Environment Protection Training and Research Institute will provide a financially viable
to preserve urban lakes, without feeling the cash crunch.
Source: Deccan Chronicle 2002, CRE finds new use
for polluted lake sediments, July 10
 Make your own rain gauge
It will cost only Rs two. The entire procedure is very simple. All you have to do is
remove the cone of a two litre, plastic bottle. Place it upside down, without the cap.
Prepare a scale (made of paper) and paste it inside the lower half of the bottle to
measure the rain received.
(Vijay Kedia’s innovation; Tel: 0240-337974/ 339934)
| Smart farming toolTreadle
pump (TP) is easy-to-use, affordable, and can be manufactured as well as repaired using
local materials. The technique promises sustainable benefits to the small-scale farmers.
It is a manually operated irrigation devise consisting of a sheet or cast iron pump
head, a bamboo frame with two pedals and a strainer. TP’s design can vary across the
region. With a pumping head of 3 to 3.5 meters (m), it has the potential of lifting the
water up to a maximum height of 7-m. Depending on the make, its cost may vary between Rs
576 (US $12) and Rs 1,680 (US $35). A study done by International Water Management
Institute (IWMI), Sri Lanka, in India, Nepal terai and Bangladesh rates TP as the smartest
farming tool. (www.iwmi.org) As it allows transition from subsistence to
small-scale commercial farming, while also managing the groundwater. |
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