News and Articles

The report starts from August as the floods struck and chronicles the sequence of events till November. The initial frenzy of the flood & confusion as people panic and relief exists as only a mirage to the slow grind of the government machinery are documented.

A 'major new study' brings alarming news that the Himalayan glaciers are melting at a faster rate than earlier estimated. A study of the Naimona'nyi Glacier in Tibet found that "the glacier had melted so much that the exposed surface of the glacier dated to 1944".

In September 2008, Dalit Watch published a report on its findings while monitoring 205 relief camps in the wake of the devastating floods on the India-Nepal border. This report records the damage caused by the breach on the embankment of the Kosi river in August 2008 and appraises the quality of relief efforts in the aftermath of the floods.

An average trekker leaves behind approximately 100,000 kgs of water bottles per year. During average trekking of a week , trekker drinks up to 50 litres of water. Each trekker leaves behind 50 PET bottles along the track. PET bottles can take 1,000 years to biodegrade. Nine out of 10 water bottles end up as garbage or litter, and that means millions per day. PET bottles require massive amounts of fossil fuels to manufacture and transport, leaving behind carbon foot prints. Billions of bottles show up at landfills every year. The entire energy costs of the lifecycle of a bottle of water are equivalent, on average, to filling up 250 ml of each bottle with oil. "Making bottles to meet Americans' demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 US cars for a year," according to the study. "Worldwide, some 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year."

Mahendra Yadav and his team of Asha Parivar is stationed in Babhangama, 15 kms. from Muraliganj Block headquarters of Madhepura Dist. of Bihar for over two months now to carry out relief operations and help people access relief from government schemes. Muraliganj is 80 kms. from Katihar railway station.

This 8 page document states the approach made by the visiting team towards the disaster and the experiences of the workers on the ground. The report is detailed with covering the minutae of the relief work organized and implemented. It also takes a look at the final impact of the work on the beneficiaries.

The setting is unique. 34 Nepali villages within the embankments want the breach to remain opened. I talked to some of them and reminded them of the slogan that was in air at the time of construction of the embankments, "Aadhi Roti Khayengein, Kosi Baandh Banayengei".

In the current edition of the Down To Earth, the editorial by Sunita Narain highlights a particularly thorny problem being faced by India at present. The issue of waste water processing & what happens to the processed waste water is currently one that raises petitions & calls for judiciary oversight!

We talk so much about washing hands, when washing it the right way produces the safety from diseases as enunciated by most national / international organisations. Even washing with soap might not help. Handwashing with soap is one of the most easily available & effective methods to prevent diarrheal & related infections.

APOWA teams are at work providing relief and rescue to flood victims but resources are already running out . An urgent appeal to support Orissa flood relief & to provide support to the victims of this unprecedented disaster has been posted on the India Water Portal Blog.