Conservation - Reducing Water Usage

This paper discusses river linking, as a part of an ancient tradition, and suggests how NGOs can play a role in this attempt. The example of the Koyna dam is taken, and the effective handling of the technical and human angle of the dams construction is detailed through in-depth study and detailed field visits.

This paper attempts to discuss farm water conservation techniques and multiple  cropping patterns with the idea of minimising water use. The authors provide a glimpse of agricultural facts that include total geographical area, net sown area etc. They provide population trends in the country to point out to the water and food stress.

This document by the Maharashtra Remote Sensing Applications Centre (MRSAC) presents the “Atlas on Watershed Prioritisation” using resources database on 1:2,50,000 scale adopting a

1. Meaning of Ground Water

• Water located beneath the ground surface.

 Groundwater is stored in and moves slowly through layers of soil, sand and rocks called aquifers. Aquifers typically consist of gravel, sand, sandstone, or fractured rock, like limestone.

Dr. R. Jagadishwara Rao
Former Professor of Geology
Sri Venkateswara University
Tirupati, AP 517502

The India WASH Forum newsletter for January 2011. It is an open platform for engagement on contemporary issues, for an independent credible voice in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector.

• Recommendations on water and sanitation services to urban poor
  The group came up with a list of prioritised issues that need immediate attention if the urban poor were to be provided with sustainable and equitable water and sanitation services.
  
  
• Water resources are under stress of depletion as well as denial of access for the poor
  Drinking water needs are met primarily from ground water. Except for the large metros that suck away water from rivers, most small towns in India depend on ground water supply.

With tihs, they can improve water and sanitation service regulation and provision at international, national and local levels. Directed primarily at community groups, human rights NGOs, rights-based development practitioners and aid workers, this handbook aims to strengthen human rights-based advocacy by providing innovative and practical suggestions that activists and organisations can use in their work. It also acts as a resource guide for finding further information.

Water and sanitation are essential for living a healthy life with dignity. However, around a billion people across the world lack access to a safe and sufficient water supply to cover their basic needs. Over 2.5 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation and nearly 1.2 billion face the indignity of open defecation every day.

The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015 is seriously off track, with sanitation severely lagging behind. For example, estimates suggest that at current rates of progress, sub-Saharan Africa will miss the MDG water target by about 25 years, while the sanitation target may not be reached until well into the 22nd century.

The city of Aurangabad has benefited from the construction of  aqueducts and canals by its earlier rulers. According to the authors  between 1617 and 1803, a number of aqueducts and canals were constructed.

Th paper begins with a brief history of the region of Southern Kanada, its geography and the religious practices of the region. Some of the key features of this region includes  an abundance of rivers though they mostly are rain-fed.