Droughts and Floods

Guest Post: Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India

The Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India has been closely following the Mullaperiyar issue for the last several years. The polarisation of views around the Mullaperiyar has hardened over the years. The Tamil Nadu government insists that the Mullaperiyar dam is safe and that the water level must be maintained at the maximum level as per the agreement. The Kerala government insists that a new dam, downstream of the present dam, must be built because the present dam is unsafe. The recent tremors with their epicentres near the dam and the already diminishing trust and rising fears and apprehensions on both sides have created a grave situation needing immediate intervention and your initiative in getting the two parties together is a welcome move.

In this paper, Jayanta Bandopadhyay explains the need for an interdiscipliinary framework for water resource management. He states that this framework needs to include ecological, social, economic and institutional perspectives. These perspectives are essential to facilitate cooperation over the management of transboundary rivers.

The initiative on management of natural resources through appropriate interventions aimed at:

Guest Post: Rahul Banerjee

Ramaswamy Iyer has made a commendable effort to draft a National Water Policy that tries to reform the current unsustainable approach to water resource management in this country  (EPW Vol XLVI Nos 26&27 Supplement pp 201). Assuming that this draft is an invitation to a larger public debate on the issues involved I would like to make a few comments on it.

Using the data generated from a baseline survey on a sample of 6,990 households covering six districts, this paper attempts to assess the relationships between agriculture, food security and nutrition for children, adolescents and married women of reproductive age.

The Ganges river system originates in the Central Himalayas, and extends into the alluvial Gangetic Plains and drains into the Indian Ocean at the Bay of Bengal. In the upstream mountainous regions, hydropower is the main focus of development with mega and micro projects either under construction or being planned in both Nepal and India.

After the main river channel reaches the plains, it is highly regulated with dams, barrages and associated irrigation canals. All this infrastructure development and abstractions affects the river’s flow regime and reduces flows, which, in turn, impacts downstream water availability, water quality and riverine ecosystems. Furthermore, there are concerns that climate change is likely to exacerbate the water scarcity problem in the Ganges Basin. Therefore, modeling the hydrology of the basin is critical for estimation, planning and management of current and future water resources.

The most affected will be Tamil Nadu followed by Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala leading to floods, overflowing of dams and damage to property. Assessments of the earthquake in Sikkim are now ready as information is finally available.

This report prepared by International Development Research Centre (IDRC) examines how information related constraints in poor rural areas are being overcome and how information technology is being employed to the benefit of people in South Asia.

Poor people are constrained by limited access to information and poor communications technology. The research looked at the use of ‘information communications technologies’ (ICTs) in providing agricultural extension services, getting timely market price information, finding out about rural wage labour opportunities, helping rural communities to build a sustainable asset base and understanding crop diseases and soil nutrition.

The results of the research bring together rigorously tested practices and methods of applying ICTs for improving rural livelihoods. Each research study has investigated how and to what extent a specific ICT intervention made a difference. Together it shows how ICTs have empowered rural people and transformed livelihoods in agriculture: by filling information gaps, raising awareness, building skills and extending social networks.

The focus was on agricultural communities, as Asia’s poor and middle-income countries have primarily agriculture-based economies. However, a broader ‘livelihoods’ approach has been taken to ensure that we observe the variety of ways ICTs can have an effect on rural communities. The scope of the research took into account the range of on-farm and off-farm productive and reproductive activities that support farming households and communities.

The schemes covered under this audit include, (a) Public Distribution System (PDS), (b) Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), (c) Mid-day Meals (MDM), (d) Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), (e) National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS), (f) National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS), (g) Annapurna, (h) National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS), (i) Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), and (j) National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).

A large part of the state of Maharashtra continues to face acute scarcity of water due to scanty rainfall, which has had a serious impact on the livelihoods of people who live in these areas. This article "Ajuni Kordech Aad" meaning "The wells are still dry" published in the magazine Anubhav highlights the extreme hardships, lack of employment opportunities, forced migration due to negative impact on agriculture and livestock, and poverty and deprivation that people living in these areas have to face due to this water scarcity.