Contamination, Pollution and Quality

Training module at block level

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, hundreds of students of several schools along with senior citizens cleaned up Poiya Ghat Sunday morning, picking up rags and used polythene bags, to focus attention on river pollution which candidates of various political parties have chosen to ignore.

Brij Khandelwal, programme convener of the Yamuna Foundation and Rivers of the World Foundation, said apart from students involved in the My Clean Agra initiative, a large number of other voluntary groups and organisations were involved in Sunday's programme which specifically targeted the politicians for failing to clean up the cities and the rivers of India.

"No political party has bothered to say a word about how they would save a dying river and rejuvenate it or restore its original glory," said Subhash Jha and Haridutt Sharma of the Yamuna Foundation for Blue Water.

  Nitrate/Nitrite contamination is a potentially serious problem for India today, after flouride and arsenic. This contamination occurs largely through the mixing of fertiliser run-off and sewage with water meant for human use. New research reveals that Nitrate/Nitrite contamination can cause severe human health problems including cancer. Below are two research papers from the Environment Health Perspectives (EHP) Journal, written in the context of the United States, that give an idea of Nitrate/Nitrite contamination and their impact on human health. Workgroup Report in the November 2005 issue: "Drinking Water Nitrate and Health - Recent Findings and Research Needs". Read the paper here: https://www.indiawaterportal.org/tt/dwm/res/Drinking_Water_Nitrate_and_Health_Nov%202005_EHP.pdf "A Review of Nitrates in Drinking Water: Maternal Exposure and Adverse Contents Reproductive and Developmental Outcomes", appeared in the March 2006 issue. Read the paper here: https://www.indiawaterportal.org/tt/dwm/res/A_Review_of_Nitrates_in_Drinking_Water_Mar_2006_EHP.pdf

Culture and places of historical significance

The river Cauvery has been the inspiration for various civilizations who have thrived on the banks of the river. This can be seen manifested in the various forms of art, culture and philosophy that have originated along the course of the river.

My name is Deb Gangoapdhyay and I am a student at Yale University. I and a fellow student, Yuzhe Feng, have received funding to conduct a water quality and sanitation project in the Krisnanagar district of Nadia, West Bengal.

The Mazhapolima program is quite unique; it aims to (eventually) recharge about 4.5 lakh dug wells in the district, and do this through community awareness and action. It's driven by the District Collector, Mr. Kurian Baby, who strongly advocates sustainable, local development & innovation.

A Gram Panchayat (GP) in Kerala is fairly large, and has a population of approximately 20000 people, as compared to about 10000 in Karnataka, and about 700 in Uttar Pradesh. GP's have ward divisions, about 20 of them per GP. Each GP has a staff of at least 6-8 people. The GP that we visited - Adat, had about 12 employees , 4 lower division clerks, 3 upper division clerks, 1 Joint Secretary, 1 Secretary, 2 peons and 1 sweeper. Except for the peons and the sweeper, the employees are all usually SSLC-pass, but here in Adat they were mostly graduates. For salaries alone, the GP spends about Rs 1.5 lakhs per month. Adat GP executed 124 projects last year. The GP's annual budget was Rs 1.40 crores, not including NREGA funds. Out of this, Rs 40 lakhs was raised by the GP through property taxes etc. Most other parts of the country, GP budgets are only about 5 to 10 lakhs. The Adat GP office was a large 2 storeyed building. Mr Vijayan, the Joint Secretary proudly showed us their awards, which filled up an entire wall.

New guidelines have been released by the Department of Drinking Water Supply, Ministry of Rural Development (GoI), towards ensuring drinking water security in rural areas. This programme is being taken up under the Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission (RGNDWM). The Department of Drinking Water Supply (DDWS) is the nodal department in the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) in the Government of India, providing scientific, technical, and financial assistance to the states in the drinking water and sanitation sector. Access the guidelines here: National Rural Water Supply Programme Guidelines - 2008

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