News and Articles

The workshop notes are a record of the actual ground level experiences, understandings/misunderstandings and conversations regarding the floods in North Bihar.

The attached files below are the set of the workshop notes. We welcome comments which will passed back to Barh Mukti Abhiyan.

Since its foundation in 1968, the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC) has facilitated the sharing, promotion and use of knowledge so that governments, professionals and organisations can better support poor men, women and children in developing countries to obtain water and sanitation services they will use and maintain The Source Water and Sanitation News Service from IRC provides news in English, French and Spanish with an emphasis on rural and peri-urban areas in developing countries. The current Source South Asia Water & Sanitation News edition has a wide range of articles. Some highlights are: Asia: Unilever to replicate Project Shakti on other international markets - http://www.irc.nl/page/46761 Afghanistan: OCHA Humanitarian Action Plan's Appeal for water and sanitation - http://www.irc.nl/page/46636

The following article is the latest update of an overview of Kosi floods by SSVK. It reveals the ineffective handling and inadequate supply of materials by the Government in the flood hit regions. It also points out the activities done by various organizations and SSVK itself.

Priya Ranjan, recently visited the flood hit areas in Bihar recently and found that things were really sad and pathetic. Mushhar communities were surviving on snails and grass-seeds.

Images of a dying river, handwritten Press releases & more: Images of a Struggle on Flickr Charging the Government of India with not keeping its solemn commitment to keep the River Bhagirathi alive in its pristine stretch from Gangotri to Uttarkashi, Dr. G.D. Agrawal has resumed his fast-unto-death from Makar Sankranti Day, Wednesday, Jan 14, 2009.

You may recall that Prof. G. D Agrawal, former Professor & Dean of Students at IIT-Kanpur, the first Member-Secretary of India's Central PollutionControl Board and one of India's foremost environmental scientists went on a fast from June 13, 2008 to seek uninterrupted flow of River Bhagirathi (Ganga) in its natural form between Gangotri and Uttarkashi. His demand was very limited & specific, i.e., that the River Ganga be allowed to flow in its natural form in this 125 km stretch from its origin. This is the only stretch left now where the Ganga can still be seen in its pristine form. Dr. Agrawal requested the Govt. of India & the State Govt. of Uttarakhand to stop construction of Hydro Electric Projects (HEPs) in this stretch so that river flow was not diverted through tunnels that would destroy its ecology and its unique self-purifying properties. (diagrams are provided in the attached press release). Indians across the world got sensitized and lent their support to Prof Agrawal. Many wrote or met the PM of India and the CM of Uttarakhand and requested them to protect the Holy Ganga , whom Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru described as India's civilizational identity.

This year we certainly need much larger quantities due to extensive work going on in flood affected areas of Bihar & Orissa. We are thankful to a large number of organizations & individuals who whole-heartedly supported our campaign Rahat Floods.

A two day National Workshop on need for policy and legal norms for allowing freshwater flows in Rivers in India on January 3-4, 2009 at Bangalore ended with a unanimous demand that governments must allow continuous, sustained freshwater flows in all perennial rivers of India, whenever, a dam, diversion or hydropower project is planned, constructed or operated. Inaugurating the workshop on the morning of January 3, 2009, Shri L C Jain, former member, planning commission of India (and many other important posts), expressed his pain and anguish on the state of India's Rivers, "It is very disturbing that the acts of commissions and omissions of the authorities have ruthlessly, blindly, heartlessly lead todestruction of almost every major rivers of India. The hearts of the officials and ministers should throb for the millions depending for their needs and livelihoods on the rivers, but it seems that the stones of the South and North block buildings have entered their hearts." Quoting Gandhiji's agenda for the economic independence of India from what he wrote in the Young India on November 29, 1929, Jain said, Land, Water and Air cannot be subject of commerce, but the planners lock up the pain, hunger, malnutrition in the paragraphs of their five year plan documents and do not ensure their inclusion in their actual plans and programmes. He expressed his deep anguish that even the recommendations of the official policies and committees on ensuring freshwater flows in the rivers remain unimplemented.