Punjab

Following the invitation of Member of Parliament (Ludhiana) Mr. Manish Tewari, the Hon’ble Minister for Environment and Forests Mr. Jairam Ramesh along with officials of the Ministry of Environment and Forests including the Chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board, visited the site of the Buddha Nala in Ludhiana, Punjab in September of 2010.

This Current Science paper uses secondary data to discuss the disappearance of the river Saraswati. The enigma that was the disappearance of this river, which according to the author once upon a time greened Rajasthan and had nurtured civilizations on its shore, brought archaeologists, geologists, geophysicists, and climatologists to find answers. The author uses the body of work created by these scientists to solve the puzzle of the disappearance of the Saraswati.

Organizer: Guru Arjan Dev Institute of Development Studies (IDSAsr), Amritsar

Venue: Conference hall, Guru Nanak Bhawan, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar

Topics:

• Challenges and Opportunities for Water Security: An overview
• Regional Water Security, Resource Use & Allocation

It argues that while the consequences of negative groundwater draft have mostly been viewed as an ecological disaster, the externalities of groundwater depletion pose greater concern for socio-economic equity in the access to this resource.

Organizer: Crop Improvement Society of India

Venue: Ludhiana

Topic:

• Agriculture: Abettor and sufferer
• Mitigation strategies – Policy and Management interventions

The following article is a literature survey of water management interventions taken up in Indian fields to improve the water productivity which would in turn reduce the groundwater decline.

From Ludhiana: Bassi Pathana Town - Fathegar sagar district:

A Community meeting was held in Valmiki Mohalla. It was attended by local eminent persons from the community, Mr. Sardar Sukhdev Singh Jamagal - rtrd Additional Judge, Mr. Kaval Jit Singh Mattu, Advocate, Mr. Dholak Ram - and President,  Safai karmachari Union, and community leader Mr. Ram ji Lal, Govt Employee. 12 liberated SK women took the responsibility of organising a meeting in the basti with the support of committee people. They invited the community as well as general public to the meeting, where the mission, demands, SKA’s back ground were discussed and people’s views were taken.

The IEEE Spectrum magazine, the flagship publication of the IEEE, the world's largest professional technology association, recently brought out a special report on Water vs Energy. The report contains three main sections - Thirsty Machines (Water, Energy and Industry), Uneasy Harvest (Water, Energy and Agriculture) and Tiny Test Beds (potential solutions).

The Uneasy Harvest section contains a special report - "Pumping Punjab Dry", on the depleting groundwater situation in Punjab, and how cheap energy is endangering India's food security.

"Where Water meets Watts", is a map of Water and Energy hot spots and bright spots.

Sugarcane expert Shri Suresh Desai (from Belgaum, Karnataka)  is visiting Punjab from March 1st to 4th, 2010. He will deliver lectures on water efficient sugarcane farming. The workshop will have practical sessions too.

Time : 09.30 AM to 03.30 PM
Address : Village Bhawalpur, Near Rajpura, District Patiala