Political

Organizer: Geological Society of India

Institute of Rural Research and Development (IRRAD) is an initiative of the S.M. Sehgal Foundation dedicated to creating a brighter future for India’s rural communities. We envision rural people across India motivated and empowered to make their lives more secure and prosperous. IRRAD designs, tests and replicates scalable community-based models for rural development in the areas of water management, agriculture, sanitation, governance and education. It also builds capacities of communities and community-based institutions to enable them to undertake their own development. These initiatives are transformed into action through IRRAD’s four centers: Natural Resource Management, Policy, Governance & Advocacy Capacity Building, and Rural Research Center. Most of IRRAD’s field work is focused in 206 villages of Mewat (Haryana), one of the most backward regions in India.

It has been dominated by reports of  a major cyclone Thane that lay centered on the the 29th December 2011 near latitude 12.30N and longitude 83.00E, about 300 km east-southeast of Chennai (Tamilnadu) and 480 km north-northeast of Trincomalee (Sri Lanka). Earlier reports related to the cyclone Thane indicate predictions and cyclone warnings made by the IMD for the north of Tamil Nadu and the south Andhra Pradesh coast along with possibility of heavy rains and severe winds and warnings for fishermen to refrain from going into the sea.

Later reports indicate that Cyclone Thane has hit the landfall between the Union territory of Puducherry and neighbouring Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu at about 9 am leaving behind a trail of devastation followed by later reports of weakening of the cyclone activity and predictions of heavy rainfall over Kerala, south interior Karnataka and north interior Tamil Nadu

Guest Post: Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India

The Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India has been closely following the Mullaperiyar issue for the last several years. The polarisation of views around the Mullaperiyar has hardened over the years. The Tamil Nadu government insists that the Mullaperiyar dam is safe and that the water level must be maintained at the maximum level as per the agreement. The Kerala government insists that a new dam, downstream of the present dam, must be built because the present dam is unsafe. The recent tremors with their epicentres near the dam and the already diminishing trust and rising fears and apprehensions on both sides have created a grave situation needing immediate intervention and your initiative in getting the two parties together is a welcome move.

Article and Image Courtesy: International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance (IRHA)

The newsletter focuses on all activities concerning rainwater harvesting, the International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance (IRHA) and its partners. This issue summarizes work done during 2011.

Content courtesy: India WASH Forum 

The initiative on management of natural resources through appropriate interventions aimed at:

This guidebook published by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board takes the reader through various units, operations and processes in a typical Extended Aeration Biological treatment plant, the Workhorse of the industry.