Catch Water Newsletter August-September 2002

	*A NEW BEGINNING*
	By the people
	*IN FOCUS*
	Open letter to the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee Khandwa,Catching every droplet The lost pond
	*CAMPAIGN*
	From the courtroom Face to face Destroy, then revive
	INITIATIVE
	Woman power Paying up A tiny oasis in Uttar Pradesh Smile! CII’s water meet Rotary’s initiative Brick by brick Nurturing the future CSE’s pilgrims in Madhya Pradesh Taking initiative Experiments with water
	NEWS FROM GUJARAT
	Pure rain In a great hurry!
	JAL BIRADARI
	As priceless as amrit Reviving pynes
	JAL YODHA
	D V Subramanaian Ashutosh Agnihotri
	NEWS FROM CHENNAI
	Rain centre inaugurated The Alacrity cycle Porous roads Plumbers’ meet Women’s meet
	CSE' LATEST DESIGNS
	Making a mark in Laburnam
	TECHNOLOGY
	Pollutants to bind roads Make your own rain gauge Smart farming tool Techno tit bits
	CLASSROOM
	WATER WISDOM
	FUNDING AGENCY
	NEWS FROM ABROAD
	China: Catching rain in Gansu China: Wastage banned South Korea: All in the game.... USA: From sewage to tap South Africa: Weeding out South Africa: Water at Earth Summit
	WATER IN NEWS
	AN OPPORTUNITY
	READERS SPACE
	BOOK/DOCUMENTS
	VISUAL WATCH
	WEB INFO
	EVENT
	NOTICE BOARD

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Vol. 4

No. 4

August-September 2002

Dirty ponds revived
The government of Punjab has launched a new plan to revive the dirty village ponds for fish farming by adopting Duckweed technology. Duckweed saplings have the quality of cleaning the dirty pond water.

The effectiveness of the technique is being monitored by the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology, in Sandhuan and Peepalmajra villages of Kharar district - and, they plan to extend it to the other blocks soon.

Back to square one!
The Rs 550 lakh canal-based drinking water supply project, jointly funded by the central, state and municipal government for Fazilka town, Punjab, has fizzled out. The reasons for this debacle is rather too simple. (1) Inadequate water for the project, as the source of water was not perennial; (2) No connection was provided to supply the purified canal water to the town’s overhead tank.

It has again left 50 per cent of the population at the mercy of subsoil water sources containing high quantity of flouride.

Initiatives in Nagaland
Rainwater harvesting is gaining currency in Nagaland. Last year, notification were issued for all new government buildings to take up rainwater harvesting.

A three phase community-based rooftop rainwater harvesting project has been initiated in Kohima, Nagaland. UNICEF is providing the financial assistance to the families living below the poverty line. The first phase is complete. For the second phase, the project cost is to be shared on a 50-50 basis. In the third phase, the state will only provide the technical know-how.

25 years of water insurance
Australian Aid for International Development has recommended the Karnataka government to spend Rs 3,844 crores to ensure no water problem for next 25 years. This can be easily done by upgrading the present infrastructure and regulating the wasteful practices.

The study reveals some interesting facts: over 44 per cent of Banglore’s supply is lost due to leakage. Over 4,460 litres of potable water is used for 8,000 public fountains. Over 30,000 unauthorised connections are eating away state’s resources.

Rainwater harvesting is catching up in Lucknow
"Thank you for the e-version of the newsletter. I am working with the Minor Irrigation Department in Lucknow. It is clear that rainwater harvesting is a positive move for urban areas, where natural process of seepage has been checked due to urbanisation. In Lucknow, it appears every department is keen to do something."

Vijendra Pal
Minor Irrigation Department
vijendra6@satyam.net.in

Mumbai’s water group
"I circulated the June 2002 issue of catch water to the indymedia (mumbai) list. It is primarily a student group with focus on social issues. We have also formed a water group, which is spreading awareness amongst students."

Nirupa
Indymedia group
vijaybhangar@hotmail.com

Prejudices at societial level
"Congratulations for the newsletter. A major concern of mine over the years is that it is often impossible to separate water use and users responsibilities from a clustered perceptions and practice in society. Water collection points in areas with limited hydraulic resources, are often common areas, where two or more cultural and technology systems overlap and coexist.The often cited "transfer of technology" rarely takes place."

Gareth Davies
Belgium
gedavies@usa.net

Well done!
"Yours is a household name in the environmental community of Pakistan. We would like to receive your publications."

Munir Shah
Pakistan Environmental programme
husein47@yahoo.co.uk

"We are interested in Catch Water. Kindly send the same regularly."

SKSharma
JKPapers Ltd
cpmjk@satyam.net.in

Your responses encourage us. Keep writing!!

Looking for water journalists! Does this picture inspires you to write? We are looking forward for your stories and information on rainwater harvesting. If published (with due acknowledgment) in Catch Water, you will receive a CSE publication, as token of our appreciation.