Guest post by Priya Desai

Background

This was organised by the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE). Held on May 26th 2011, we were joined by around 150 to 200 student volunteers from various higher educational institutions in Kerala, such as the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, St. Albert's College in Ernakulam, School of Applied Life Sciences in Chuttippara and the School of Environmental Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University.

Organizer: Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India in collaboration with Baitarani Initiative and Odisha State Resource Centre of the Forum, SaciWATERs-CapNet Network (SCaN) and Cap-Net

Venue: Satapada on Chilika Lake, Odisha

Topics:

• Understanding water
• Normative concerns around water
• Legal and institutional issues related to water

 Marking the exact location on the map.  It’s not really the lake itself, but the lake bed area on the right side of the bund/road adjoining the lake.

The agricultural land below the lake abutment forming the Bellandur Lake is being developed for residential / commercial use as the case may be. It is the present owners’ choice to convert agricultural land into residential / commercial purposes as it has now come within BBMP area. Some who may not like to convert have that choice too.

Organizer: Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) - Community Environmental Resource Centre (CERC)

Venue: St.George Parish Hall, Muhamma, Kerala

Article Courtesy: 

Delhi
On June 7, 2000, the Delhi Jal Board and the Municipal Corporation announcement that they would create 150 ponds for rainwater harvesting. TAPAS, a non-governmental organisation, approached the Delhi High Court on June 22, 2000, to force government authorities to improve water availability and quality in the national capital. It sought restoration of neglected lakes and depressions in the city as well as the implementation of the announcement made by the authorities.

Hyderabad
The Andhra Pradesh High Court is hearing three different public interest petitions to protect the Hussainsagar lake. One seeks to prevent construction on or around the lake or its catchment area. Another aims to prevent heavy siltation due to annual immersion of idols in the lake during religious occasions.

The scarcity value of natural resources has risen due to rising pressure of human population and demands made by modern economics progress. As such managing these resources has become very important.

The SANDRP newsletter for December 2010 - January 2011 continues its critical analysis of dams, irrigation and related issues:

• Water Crisis in Ramsar Wetlands of India
• India dodged UN to get climate credits?

This report by Kalpavriksh, Aaranyak and ActionAid India deals with the large dams’ juggernaut, which happens to be the biggest ‘development’ intervention in this ecologically and geologically fragile, seismically active and culturally sensitive region in the coming days. With the Northeast identified as India’s ‘future powerhouse’ and at least 168 large hydroelectric projects set to majorly alter the riverscape, large dams are emerging as a major issue of conflict in the region.

Although the current scale of dam-related developments far outstrips anything which took place in the past, the region has been no stranger to dam-related conflicts. For example, the Kaptai dam, built in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in the 1960s, submerged the traditional homelands of the Hajong and Chakma indigenous communities, and forced them to migrate into parts of Northeast India.