Droughts and Floods

 Biome Solutions, a Bangalore-based company working on sustainable architecture and buildings visited some flood affected areas in Guntur to observe the situation and see the suitability of applying "Ecological Sanitation", a new approach to sanitation. (Search on India Water Portal for "Ecological sanitation" for more information on this). Their report  after their travels can be seen below.

A point of interest is the picture of a flooded toilet. Pit toilets which are the norm in rural areas have the disadvantage that during floods the pit below the toilet (where the human waste accumulates over time) gets flooded and the toilet becomes unusable. The faecal matter can come out of the toilet pan and create a real mess which needs to be cleaned up. 

Read their report at: 

http://biomesolutions.blogspot.com/2009/10/visit-to-flood-affected-areas-in-guntur.html

Picture from https://www.thehindu.com : (https://www.thehindu.com/2009/10/14/images/2009101451490301.jpg) , drinking water being supplied by tanker in Bellary district

No fresh flood threat:

https://www.thehindu.com/2009/10/13/stories/2009101353490400.htm

Several articles cover the post-mortem of the floods, triggered by CWC statements that their warning to the government of AP was ignored

PIL filed alleging negligence on the part of AP government

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=3&contentid=20091014200910140355037187a9b2d4c

Rosaiah reacts:

https://www.thehindu.com/2009/10/14/stories/2009101450460100.htm

https://www.thehindu.com/2009/10/13/stories/2009101359070300.htm

The recent floods in North Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have caused widespread devastation.Government and civil society organisations have responded quickly and relief work is going on on a wide scale. There will be a high degree of activity in relief and  rehabilitation for the next 6 months for sure.

Attached is an assesment report of the status in Mahbubnagar district created by a team of civil society representatives. The report makes reference to a networking effort of civil society organisations in order to co-ordinate their efforts, and the team promises to continue to survey the situation and make periodic reports.

The following reports are from interactions organized in and around the Kosi Basin on the initiative of the Barh Mukti Abhiyan in alliance with local organizations. Reports from the interactions offer an unique window to the continued effect of the Kosi deluge and also the current local concerns in the field.

A map of the affected areas can be seen at this URL

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/(db900SID)/LPAA-7WKB6S/picture/0.84?OpenElement&FieldElemFormat=gif

and is also attached to this blog entry

The below is a brief summary of the events:

OVERALL SITUATION

Heavy rains due to depression in the Bay of Bengal and low pressure from the Arabian Sea from Sep tember 29 to October 2 have caused flash floods in north Karnataka and the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, affecting nearly two million people and claiming 210 lives. In Karnataka, 15 districts are affected and 161 people have nearly tw millionperished. In Andhra Pradesh, five districts were hit by the flash flood and 49 people have lost their lives. However, of the two million, 1.4 million people affected are from Andhra Pradesh.

Oxfam India has sent teams to survey and gauge the situation in flood affected areas. They point out that as these are mostly arid areas, they are particularly ill-prepared to deal with floods.

Read the full article here:  http://bit.ly/OME0a

News updates from various media sources about the floods. You can also find up-to-date news updates on India Water Portal's news feed:

https://www.indiawaterportal.org/news

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Mumbai Mirror:

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=3&contentid=20091005200910050347421404a8e72fe

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=3&contentid=2009100620091006031259984ba7a4bb6

Forwarded to the Portal by: Preeti Gupta, WES-Net

The Village Tank Cascade Systems of Sri Lanka, is a report on the traditional technology of water and drought management.

Its written by C M Madduma Bandara, of Kyoto University, Japan.

The learnings of the report may be useful for countries whose villages and towns have innovated their water cascade systems to meet their demand for water.